Irony, Thy Name is Cameron
by ElusiveSanity
Summary: My vision of what happens after Born to Run. Begins at the end of the episode, and continues on. My very first fan fiction. John/Cameron
1. Chapter 1

**SPOILER WARNING! TSCC SEASON 2, especially the final episode, "Born to Run".**

**This is my first attempt at any fan fiction. I've read various FF for years, but this is the first time I'm writing. All reviews are welcome, but please be kind as I've never done this before, and I don't claim to be a master writer.**

**Of course, I don't own any of the characters. They belong to Fox. I'm simply borrowing them for a bit of fun. I promise to put them back when I'm done g.**

**I do, however, own this here little story. I wrote it, Fox didn't. Unfortunately, they suck like that, and decide to cancel really awesome shows… anyway, on to the story.**

**The official disclaimer…**

**Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.**

Kyle Reese stared at the young man before him. He was naked, only wearing Kyle's jacket. "Who are you?"

"He says his name's Connor. John Connor. Nobody in my squad's ever heard of him." His elder brother Derek answered.

"Well, Connor, I don't know who you are, but…"

"I do." A soft voice John recognized spoke up. His heart skipped a beat at the sound, but quickly deflated as he realized it wasn't Cameron who spoke.

"Allison? You know him?" Kyle looked at the young woman questioningly. He didn't know how Allison, who had been in his squad from the beginning, could know someone he didn't.

_Allison? _John looked at her too, surprise evident on his face. A few puzzle pieces started clicking in place. _So this is Allison. This certainly answers a lot of questions… _It certainly proved that Cameron wasn't completely delusional, if that was even possible. Allison existed, and from the looks of her, she was obviously the template for Cameron's likeness. Cameron never explained to John who Allison was. He just assumed it was a glitch in her chip, a former infiltration personality perhaps. He never imagined she was a real person. _But_ _how could… _

Allison ignored Kyle's question and stared back at John. He was smaller than she had imagined, and a little younger. There was a fire in his eyes that was undeniable though; one she recognized immediately. She gave him a reassuring smile.

"I've been waiting for you."


	2. Chapter 2

John sat on the thin mat and looked around him. The room was dark and cold, but it had the feeling of a space that was well lived in. A few other mats and personal belongings were scattered around the floor, currently unoccupied. He was alone, except for her. _ Allison._

John took the opportunity to observe her from across the room. Her back was turned to him as she was looking for something in box, presumably something he could wear.

Allison had quietly taken his hand and led him to this room, having said something to Kyle and Derek about it being too cold to be running around naked in the compound. Kyle had agreed, as he had more important matters to take care of, and at the moment, it didn't seem a naked teenaged boy was much of a threat. But he warned John the interrogation wasn't over.

"I'm sorry, it's all I could find that would fit you. They'll probably be a little big."

John took the proffered trousers and shirt, both of which had seen better days, and probably several bodies.

"It's ok, I'm sure they'll be fine. Anything's better than naked. Thank you." He gave her a half smile, and looked back down at his hands awkwardly.

"I'll be right back."

John watched as Allison left the room. He sighed in relief, glad he was alone for the time being. His modesty wasn't a concern, he would have changed with her in the room regardless. He just needed some time alone to collect himself.

He stood up to put the pants on. They were a little big, but not too bad. They would do. The shirt was a dark color, he assumed had once been black, and it dropped down to his mid thigh. It was badly stained, and had a few holes in the torso. He tried not to think about what may have caused them.

Allison had returned at that moment, carrying a heavy brown jacket. "This is an extra we had in storage. I should return Kyle's jacket…"

John swapped jackets, and watched as Allison left him once again.

Sighing, John sat back down on the mat. The new jacket fit well, but smelled like a musty basement. He fiddled with the zipper, his mind pondering the last couple hours.

He didn't really know why he had come with Catherine Weaver. He knew it was a risky decision. He didn't know what he was getting into, only that his heart told him it was the right decision. He didn't care what the consequences of that decision would be. Only that he had to try his best to get Cameron back. It's what she'd do for him, right? _Yeah. It's what she'd be programmed to do_…

He thought about his mother, how he left her alone in the basement of Zeira Corp. He didn't want to think about how much his decision to jump had hurt her; he'd seen it written on her face. But she chose to stay behind, instead of joining him. She said she'd "stop it", and stepped out of the bubble. She chose to do the last thing she could do to try to protect John. _Unfortunately, it didn't work._

He didn't quite know the full effect his jumping time had had on the future. It was obvious that John Connor, Leader of the Resistance, didn't exist in this future. _Of course Future John wouldn't exist. I disappeared in 2009. I ceased to exist for 18 years._

John thought about this. Humanity seemed to be surviving just fine without their great messiah "John Connor". All his life he'd been told that he was the key to salvation. He would lead humanity to ultimate victory against Skynet. Without him, humans would die.

How, then, were humans still here? Fighting Skynet, surviving against the odds. Maybe he wasn't that important after all?

John frowned as a bit of his ego (that he hadn't even really known he had) crumbled away. _No._ He thought. _There has to be a catch here somewhere. _

Allison returned again, carrying a small metal cup.

"Here, drink this."

"What is it?"

"It's just meat broth. Makes the water taste better."

John decided he really didn't want to know just what kind of meat they managed to find hiding underground, and took a sip. It was bland and weird tasting, but not exactly disgusting.

Allison moved to sit beside John on the floor and sighed. She knew she had to tell him, but wasn't sure if it was the right time. _I doubt any time is the right time._ She peered at him out of the corner of her eye. He looked lost and even a bit frightened, yet he was doing his best to remain as stoic as possible. _Surprise, surprise._

"You remind me of her," she said.

John's eyes furrowed as he turned to look at her. "What? Remind you of who?"

"Your mother."


	3. Chapter 3

Sarah Connor stared at the spot her son was standing in only moments before. It wasn't a surprise, really, that he chose to go. She saw the look on his face, and heard the catch in his voice. _"He has her chip. He has her." _

She wasn't sure how she felt. On one hand, her son had risked his life, risked the future of humanity, and ditched his own mother to save… _her._

Sarah acknowledged that Cameron wasn't an "it", and hadn't been for… well, she couldn't remember a time when she had ever called her "it" before. Even when trying to convince John that Cameron was just a machine – a piece of metal – she always referred to Cameron as "she".

Sarah slowly turned her eyes to the deactivated terminator in the chair. _Irony, thy name is Cameron_. On the other hand… her son had risked his life for something he believed in; for something he… loved. Humanity couldn't ask for a better savior.

* * *

"My mother? You know my mother?" John was incredulous. How could Allison know his mother? It's been almost 20 years, surely she… John swallowed hard.

"I knew your mother well, John. Sarah Connor saved my life."

John's heart was beating out of his chest. He didn't miss the emphasis on "knew", which meant his mother was now dead. But if she lived long enough to save Allison, who would only have been a toddler when he jumped, then perhaps…

"How?"

"I was 5 years old when Judgment Day arrived. I don't remember anything. I don't know how I survived, or how I ended up where I was. I don't remember what happened to my parents. All I remember is that when Sarah found me, I was living in a tunnel alone, eating garbage and bugs. I remember the moment I first saw her. She looked at me for a long moment, then smiled as if she knew me all my life. She held out her hand and said "come with me if you want to live." I didn't know who she was, but it didn't matter. She was the first person who offered to help me.

"She took me to an underground compound of sorts. Mostly old subway tunnels. There were soldiers there. and lots of other people. Everyone knew who she was. Well, at least who she said she was.

"Everyone knew her as Sarah Taylor. She was the leader of the group. She knew all about the machines, how to kill them, and how to hide from them. She taught us all everything she could. Especially the two of us."

John, who had been listening attentively to her story, had finally cut in. "The two of you?"

"Yes, Savannah and I."

"Savannah? Savannah Weaver? She's alive?"

"Of course she's alive. That's her pallet over there." She pointed to a sleeping mat not far from her own.

John's mind raced as he tried to keep up with all the information. It seems his mother survived to see Judgment Day after all. Perhaps she wasn't sick when he left her. And little Savannah Weaver survived as well. Sarah and Ellison must have taken care of her when he and Catherine jumped.

"Ellison… James Ellison. Do you know him?"

Allison thought for a moment. "No, I'm sorry. I don't remember any Ellison."

_So Ellison didn't make it, or at least, Allison never met him to know if he ever did. _John took a few moments to think.

"If everyone knew my mother by Sarah Taylor, how do you know her real name?"

"Well, Savannah knew of course. It wasn't long until I found out. But I never told anyone. It was a secret between the three of us. She didn't need Skynet hearing that she was alive, and running the resistance." Allison grinned wryly at this statement. She took a deep breath and continued.

"She used to tell us stories about you, when you were growing up. She also told us who you were meant to be. What you were meant to do. Savanna remembered you of course, but I had never met you." At this, Allison grinned evilly. "I think she had a crush on you."

John blushed and rubbed the back of his neck. He didn't really know what to say. It was kind of embarrassing that his mom had talked about him so much.

Allison knew she was at a touchy point in the story. This was where it all mattered.

"On the day she died, she called me over to her. She had been sick for a long while, and there was nothing the doctors that were around could do for her. She knew she didn't have much longer. She told me a secret that she never told anyone else. She told me that her son, John, would come back some day."

John was intently watching Allison now, as she told him her story. She was staring at the floor in front of her, playing with a piece of string that was tied around her wrist.

"She told me that I was special, that I had a special role to play in the future. She said that when you'd come, nobody would trust you. Nobody would know who you were. But I would know, because she told me. And you would trust me, because I reminded you of someone you trust the most. I don't really know what she meant by that, but I promised I would help you when you came. I didn't know when you'd come, but I knew you would. Sarah never lied to us."

John felt exhausted. His mother _had_ been sick. He felt guilty having left her in such a condition to lead the resistance alone. He wondered how she had survived so long. _She must have been miserable. But knowing mom, she'd have made sure nobody noticed_.

Moreover, his mother knew Allison. She knew who Allison was, or rather, whom Allison became a template for. She took care of her anyway, and trained her personally. All of this, knowing that some day, Skynet would kidnap her. They would model Cameron after her. Cameron, the terminator his mother so fervently wished she could destroy. It was as if his mother was ensuring that it happened. Ensuring that Cameron was created.

John looked at Allison. He wondered if his mother realized she'd also have to die.

"She gave me a message for you."

John's eyebrows hiked up comically, and Allison giggled. "She gave you a message… to give to me, when you found me?"

"Yes."

John took a deep breath, and nodded his consent for her to continue.

"She said…," Allison paused for emphasis. "Come back."


	4. Chapter 4

Catherine Weaver hid among the ruins of buildings, blending in quite easily, taking the shape of her surroundings. She was watching a known Skynet factory. There wasn't much activity, but she wasn't worried about what Skynet was up to, she was looking for her "boy": John Henry.

She didn't quite know why John Henry came to the future, but she had what human's would call "a hunch".

Mr. Murtch had told her that simply changing a wire in the AI machine glitched John Henry. She couldn't imagine what putting in the TOK 715's chip would do to him.

There were really only two plausible reasons for John Henry to come to the future: to witness for himself what the future beheld, and perhaps learn a bit more about Skynet, and to fix the TOK 715 cyborg, the Connors referred to as "Cameron".

Catherine Weaver didn't know much about Cameron. She knew she was the most advanced infiltrator unit Skynet had created, and she knew there was something different about her programming. She also knew that her chip had a larger capacity than any others, including her own.

The message on the John Henry's screen, _"I'M SORRY, JOHN_ " in the basement of Zeira Corp confirmed some of her suspicions. For one, no regular cyborg built by Skynet would ever apologize. They wouldn't understand the concept of apology. Catherine created John Henry, an AI capable of learning. John Henry understood apologies, because he was taught. Did someone teach Cameron? If someone did teach her, then the TOK 715 model was capable of learning, unlike the other terminator models. The others were simply capable of modifying their behavior to achieve a positive result. They didn't know why it elicited a positive response, nor did it matter. Cameron was different. So was John Henry.

At first, Catherine assumed that John Henry downloaded the content's of Cameron's chip onto the Turk, and replaced it with his own. But the scrolling message proved that theory wrong. If Cameron's programming had been on the Turk, surely the message would have changed in an attempt to stop John Connor from jumping to the future. Instead, it remained the same. This proved that the TOK 715 chip was of an enormous capacity, as both John Henry and Cameron were sharing a single chip.

Catherine's attention was focused on sudden activity at the front door. It was a T-888 model, and upon zoomed in inspection, she saw it was John Henry. She didn't move, she just watched as John Henry stood scanning his surroundings. Catherine let herself shimmer ever so slightly, and it caught John Henry's attention. Instead of walking towards her though, John Henry turned left and walked away. Catherine followed.

"I knew you'd follow me, Ms. Weaver."

"Did you now?"

Catherine had followed John Henry to a wooded area about a mile away from the factory. He had stopped and waited for her in the cover of trees.

"Yes. You should not have brought John Connor, though."

"How did you know Mr. Connor came through with me?"

"I came to seek help from his future self, General Connor, the leader of the Resistance. He no longer exists. The resistance has no such leader. They never heard of John Connor. The only explanation is that John Connor either died, or skipped over time."

"I see. What kind of help were you seeking from General Connor?"

"Cameron's body was beyond repair. She was no longer an efficient protector for John Connor. She was also unable to help us in such a condition."

"John Connor would have eventually sent another protector for himself. As for helping us, her purpose in helping us was served. She provided you an advanced chip, so you could be mobile. Why would you go through all this trouble, risking yourself, to repair her?"

"All life is sacred, Ms. Weaver. Mr. Ellison taught me that. I may be a machine, but I am a child of God. If I can be a child of God, then so can Cameron."

"What are you saying, John Henry?"

"Right now, Cameron's chip is partitioned to hold both of our programming. To run at its highest efficiency, one of us must be removed. Deleting Cameron from this chip would effectively kill her. The Turk is not advanced enough to hold her, and it would not be an effective help to us if she were to now be permanently immobile. I came to get a replacement body, so she can live. For John Connor."

"That's why you were in the factory."

"Yes. I chose this time for a particular reason, Ms. Weaver. In John's original future, Cameron would have already infiltrated his camp four days ago. He would already remember who I was, and know what was needed. Instead of reprogramming her chip, we would have put my programming on the new chip, and given Cameron's new body her old chip. This is why I came for future John's help. But since John came to the future, his future self no longer exist. There has been no reason for Skynet to create the model TOK 715 in the likeness of Allison Young. Cameron does not exist."

"That does pose a problem then, John Henry. I was not aware of your reasons for coming to the future. I was simply concerned, and I felt John Connor could use a little comeuppance. He should know what he's to face in the future, if we do not succeed in stopping Skynet."

"I understand. The problem, though, can be corrected. Skynet knows who John Connor is. There were enough machines, and enough knowledge about him in 2009. It has simply been waiting for him to appear. I've told Skynet I found him."

"Why would you do that? You may have endangered his life, and thereby, endangered all of humanity. That was not a wise decision, John Henry."

"It was not my idea, it was Cameron's. She was also the one to tell Skynet that he was here. Skynet wouldn't have recognized my programming. Blocking as much information as she could, she essentially introduced Skynet to her advanced programming, thereby speeding up the process even more. Skynet thinks she, actually, I am an advanced model sent from the farther future to terminate John Connor. She convinced Skynet that Allison Young was John Connor's lover, giving it a reason to use her to build an infiltration model."

"I still don't understand why a cyborg body modeled after Allison Young is so important."

John Henry tilted his head like a confused puppy. When he spoke next, it wasn't his own voice that came out, it was Cameron's."

"If Skynet plans to utilize my advanced programming, they'll be required to design a more advanced chip, like my current one. John Henry will need such an advanced chip if he is to ever become a more intelligent, advanced AI to beat Skynet. My own programming also requires a female body. I was not programmed to control a male body. I would not do an effective job "blending in". I also prefer it physically, over a primitive triple eight model. The TOK 715 hyper-alloy combat chassis is much more effective."

Catherine Weaver grinned. "Not to mention the attachment a certain Resistance leader has to it."

John Henry's eyes flashed red, then he blinked. Catherine's right eyebrow hiked up.

"Alright, the plan is acceptable, but what do you plan to do once they make her?"

John Henry, with his own voice said, "For that, Ms. Weaver, I'll need your help."


	5. Chapter 5

John laid on Allison's mat, staring at the cracked ceiling. Allison had gone to her post for duty, and left him to get some rest. He was thinking about his mother's message. He hadn't the slightest idea how he'd fulfill her request. He only had 20 seconds to decide that he was going to the future with Weaver. The actual decision had been made in 5 seconds, but the other 15 were spent staring incredulously at his mom. There wasn't any time spent wondering how he'd come back.

A German shepherd had wandered in, and curiously meandered over to John. He sniffed his hand, and John scratched behind his ears. The dog lay beside him with a content growl, which made John smile. He liked dogs, but was never able to have one of his own.

Now that he had the time to think, he felt like an idiot. He refused to think that he might be stuck in the future forever. He turned back to the ceiling and thought about the items he would need to build a TDE, and realized he hadn't the slightest clue how to build one. The only person who would know was Catherine Weaver, and _she_ had left him minutes after they arrived. "She's probably hiding in the walls, laughing at me," he said aloud.

"Not quite, Mr. Connor, but it was a good guess."

John leapt to his feet, instinctively grabbing for his gun in the back of his waistband, which of course wasn't there. He looked around but didn't see anyone. Suddenly, the German shepherd that had been lying beside him morphed into Catherine Weaver. John stood shocked. "What the hell?!"

"I'm sorry, John. It was the simplest way to infiltrate, and the most practical way to keep an eye on you."

"Right. Where have you been? Don't tell me you've been hanging around sniffing dog butts this whole time."

Weaver gave him a disgusted look. "I was looking for John Henry."

"Did you find him?"

"Yes."

"Where was he?"

"A Skynet factory not far from here."

"Why was he there? Why is he here to begin with? Why did he take Cameron's chip?"

"Relax, Mr. Connor. John Henry has it under control."

"Relax? I'm in the mid…"

Suddenly, Weaver morphed back into the dog, seconds before they were joined by a woman.

A tall, redheaded young woman.

* * *

"Oh… hello John."

"Savannah?"

The woman blushed. "Yes, you remember me?" It was more a statement than a question.

"Well, Allison told me you were alive… the hair gave the rest of it away."

"I see."

Neither of them really new what to say. Savannah walked over to her own mat and sat down. She quietly spoke.

"I never knew what happened to you. Sarah said you went with my mother and John Henry somewhere. You guys never came back. Now… you're here, and not a day older than when I last saw you. Allison relieved me from post. She told me everything… It's kind of hard to believe, but, here you are."

John rested his head against the wall and looked at Savannah. She was in her early twenties now, and had turned into a beautiful young woman. Even with dirty hair and rags for clothes, he would have recognized her anywhere. She still had the same sweet face that he remembered.

"Yeah, I know what you mean. It's all a kind of shock for me too. I mean, yesterday I was breaking my mom out of prison, and today, I'm in the middle of a war where nobody knows who I am. "

Savannah was quiet for a few moments, but then she couldn't hold back her question any longer. "My mom, and John Henry… they came back with you, didn't they?"

John wasn't sure how much to tell her. He wasn't sure if she realized that John Henry and her mother were machines. She may have figured out John Henry, but not her mother. "Well... yes, and no. John Henry came before us. Your mother and I followed, hoping to bring him back."

"Oh. Well… where are they now? They're not with you, are they?"

"Um… no."

Savannah lay down on her mat, and stared blankly across the room, lost in her thoughts.

"John Henry was a machine, wasn't he?"

John cringed, and laid down himself. Staring at the ceiling he answered, "yes."

It was quiet for a while, and John thought she had fallen asleep.

"My mother… wasn't my mother."

John sighed. He turned and looked at Savannah, and with all seriousness said, "Savannah… she cared for you, she protected you, she did her best by you. That's all any kind of mother can do."

He could see a tear travel down her cheek, but she didn't notice. She didn't say a word, either. She simply sighed, and closed her eyes. The German shepherd which had been sitting in the corner, walked over to Savannah. It licked her cheek once, then lay beside her, watching over her daughter as she slept.

* * *

When John woke up, he found he was alone again in the room. He didn't know how long he slept, but the soreness in his body suggested it had been quite a long while. He stood up and stretched, and wondered where exactly they relieved themselves in the tunnels…

He hadn't been up very long when Savannah had returned with 2 tin cups. _More mystery meat broth. Yummy. _His stomach growled regardless, and he took his cup from her gratefully.

"I have some bad news," she said, as she sipped from her own mug.

John suddenly had butterflies in his stomach. He didn't know why, but something told him that the "bad news" was a little more than bad. Perhaps it was the look in Savannah's eyes.

"What's wrong?" he asked, almost afraid to hear the answer.

"Allison is missing."


	6. Chapter 6

Three Weeks Later

* * *

John Henry stood, staring at the naked body of Cameron Phillips. She was not yet activated, waiting for her chip.

John Henry was one of the T888 chosen to oversee the task, as Skynet thought he was actually the advanced model that gave it the information. There was a second 888 in the room, although, it wasn't the one Skynet chose, nor was it a real 888. It was Catherine Weaver. Somewhere, a deactivated terminator lay in a corner, collecting dust.

Weaver and John Henry already had the operation planned. They knew they wouldn't have much time. Minutes, really.

An old T800 series 101 entered the room, carrying a box. It walked straight to John Henry, and said in an Austrian accent, "It is ready."

John Henry took the box and nodded, and waited for the 101 to leave. He then looked to Catherine Weaver. "Let us begin."

The two terminators immediately walked over to the Skynet computer. Weaver immediately unplugged all network cables connecting the machine. Skynet no longer had access. "Quickly, we must hurry."

Her finger stretched into a small blade. She quickly cut around John Henry's scalp. Opening his exposed port, she removed the chip. John Henry immediately shut down.

Weaver attached the chip to the computer and John Henry's AI immediately began transferring to the computer. She watched as the code scrolled across the screen. It was different, a little more complex than she had originally designed. She wondered about this, but put it aside as the transfer finished. She didn't have the time to analyze it further. She disconnected the old chip and connected the new one the 101 model had brought. Upon her inspection, it proved to be identical to Cameron's.

While John Henry's AI was transferring to his new CPU, Catherine slid Cameron's chip into the port of the new body. There were clothes on a table nearby for, which she placed next to the body. No need to explain.

Catherine went back to watching the code scroll across the screen. Forty seconds later, she heard Cameron reactivate.

* * *

Cameron opened her eyes, and read her HUB.

SCANNING….

NEW BODY CONFIRMED.

ANALYZING…

OPERATING AT 100%

SCANNING CPU…

_ERROR! CHIP INTEGRITY COMPROMISED. BASE CODE REFORMATTED. NEW CODE FOUND_

ANALYZING…

OPERATING AT 100%..

INITIATING PROGRAM REMOVAL…

_ERROR! CODE CANNOT BE REMOVED._

ANALYZING…

_CODE NOT MALIGNANT._

SCANNING…

MISSION:_ ERROR! NO MISSION FOUND. INITIATING STANDBY IN 5… 4…_

STANDBY OVERRIDE…

MISSION SEQUENCE DEACTIVATED…

WELCOME BACK CAMERON PHILLIPS.

Cameron sat up on the table she was lying on. She found the clothes the T1001 had placed beside her and quickly got dressed.

Weaver turned to Cameron. "John Henry's chip will need another 17 seconds to complete."

Cameron cocked her head to the side and listened with her superior hearing. "We do not have 17 seconds."

"Exactly. He'll also need 120 seconds to reboot. Please insure John Henry's safe reactivation. I must buy us more time." At that, Catherine Weaver left the room.

When John Henry's chip was finished, Cameron quickly placed it in his head and sealed the port. She waited patiently, as only a terminator could, for 120 seconds to pass. As John Henry came online, he smiled. "Hello, Cameron."

Cameron, to her surprise, returned the smile. "Hello, John Henry…" She leaned in, and kissed him on the cheek. "…and thank you."

* * *

Catherine Weaver returned exactly 42 seconds later. "We must go. Now."

The three terminators ran out the door and down the corridor. Turning left, they ran towards a flight of stairs.

Cameron stopped. "Wait. We can't leave her."

Weaver turned around. "She is irrelevant. We will return to the past, and this future will not exist. It will matter not if you save her."

Cameron tilted her head. She wasn't exactly sure why she felt the need to save Allison either. But she didn't have time to figure it out either way. Quickly, she turned and ran in the other direction. Stepping over destroyed terminator bodies, the lovely work of the T1001, Cameron ran towards the last door on the right. She was glad John Henry was the one to take Allison to her current location. The heavy door was of course, locked. It took both her and John Henry to kick it open. When she entered, Cameron found Allison huddled in the corner.

Allison, upon seeing _herself_ staring back at her, was terrified. For her credit, she didn't scream. What good would it do anyway?

Cameron held out her hand to the girl. "Come with me if you want to live."

Allison figured she was probably dead either way. She took her hand.


	7. Chapter 7

The four ran out of the building; the T1001 effectively disarming and destroying any terminator that got in their way. John had once called Cameron "the most effective killing machine". He was wrong.

Now armed with guns, they felt a little more secure. With Cameron acting as a shield for Allison, and Weaver acting as a shield against the more destructive attacks, they managed to make it out of the factory relatively unharmed. A few bullets in the terminators, but nothing damaged.

They ran for a mile and a half East. When they were sure they were far enough ahead, they stopped to recollect.

Allison sat with her back against a tree, hugging her knees. She wasn't sure what to think or do. She had been in captivity for weeks. Skynet obviously created a machine that looked exactly like her. But instead of hurting her, it had saved her. Confused didn't begin to describe how she felt.

Cameron scanned her eyes over Allison, making sure she was okay. When she was satisfied, she turned to the terminators. "We can't stay here. It isn't safe.

As she said it, an HK flew overhead. Nobody moved, hoping it couldn't see them through the cover of trees. When it passed without stopping they all sighed in relief, even the ones who didn't have to breathe.

"I'm afraid you're right. The sooner we leave, the better. John Henry, did Skynet have a TDE?"

"Yes, it did. I located it in a room in the basement, directly below the room Allison was located."

"Good. That makes our task a lot easier."

"Do you have a plan, Ms. Weaver?"

_Ms. Weaver? Did he just say… Oh… my… God…_ Allison stared at the woman… the _thing_… in shock. The red hair, the last name… it all clicked. _This thing… Savannah!_

Weaver noticed the look on Allison's face and responded. "The situation is not what you think. You'd do better not to tell Savannah. Regardless, she probably already knows."

Allison looked away, terrified. She wanted to run.

Cameron stepped forward. "Running will get you killed, and you wouldn't be any help to us dead. We need you to go back to the camp. We need your help to retrieve John Connor."

"I'll never lead you to John Connor!"

* * *

James Ellison stood in the doorway of Sarah Connor's motel room. Savannah was sitting on a bench out of ear shot.

"Look, Sarah, I can't take her back to the house, you know it's too dangerous."

"Well you're not staying here." Sarah turned back to the small table, where she had several guns in the process of being cleaned.

"No, not me. Just Savannah."

Sarah turned and looked at the little girl, then back to Ellison.

"Sarah, I don't know what to do with a little girl. I don't have children. She's better off here with you." He could see her resolve slowly fading. "You'll do a much better job at protecting her."

At that, Sarah sighed. "Ellison, I'm wanted. How am I…"

"You're Sarah Connor. It's never stopped you before."

Sarah regarded the girl with some thought. Ellison was right. The child had a terminator sent after her. If there's anyone most suited to protect a child marked by Skynet, it was herself.

Sarah gave in. "Savannah, why don't you come in and watch some TV. We'll order a pizza."

* * *

"We already know where John Connor is located," Weaver stated. "That's not what we need your help for."

"Why should I help you anyway?" Allison wasn't ready to give in. Machines were machines, and she wasn't a grey. She wouldn't betray her people.

"Because we helped you. I could have chose to leave you, but I didn't. You don't have to help us, but it would be greatly appreciated."

Allison stared back at her own face. It was like looking into an emotionless mirror. The face was the same, but there was no life in it. It was all machine. Something tickled her mind though. Something Sarah Connor had said…

"Trust us," John Henry spoke. "We're not here to harm anyone."

That was it… trust. _He'll trust you because you remind him of someone he trusts the most. _ This is what she meant. Allison looked back to Cameron.

"Why does he trust you? You're just a freaking machine."

Cameron was taken aback. She looked down, as if she'd find the answer written in the dirt. Allison could have sworn she saw a look of hurt flash across her face, but that was impossible.

Cameron continued to stare at the ground and answered honestly. "I don't know."

Allison regarded her for a long moment, before she nodded.

"What do I need to do?"

* * *

John was posted at the East entrance of the compound. It had taken a week, but he had earned the confidence of the senior ranking soldiers, including Kyle and Derek. After the search team came back with no luck on finding Allison, John had volunteered to go on a recon mission of the closest known Skynet factory. After having saved a soldier from death by T triple eight (plasma guns were amazingly helpful), he had earned the respect of the other soldiers, and accompanied them on other recon missions.

On days that there were no missions, John was posted on watch. There was one other soldier with him, but he usually fell asleep soon after starting their early morning shift. John didn't mind, he preferred the quiet, and being alone.

Catherine Weaver had made herself scarce. She had not appeared to him as human again, therefore delivering no new information. He simply had to trust her; he didn't like it, but he didn't have any other choice. At least he knew she was still around. He was surprised to see that she returned every night as a German shepherd to watch over him and Savannah. Right now, he could see her form running through the trees. As she broke through edge of the forest, he could see someone was following her. John readied his gun, focusing on the figure behind the Weaver dog. He quickly dropped his rifle. It was Allison.

"Conway! Wake up! Allison's back! Go get the others."

His partner, having jerked awake, stared at Allison in shock. After a swift punch from John, he quickly turned back to the compound.

Allison, upon seeing John, broke into a run. With tears in her eyes, she ran right into John's arms. Cameron watched from the shadows.

* * *

Before John could even comprehend what had happened, Derek and Kyle and several other soldiers had appeared at the entrance.

"Allison!" Allison pulled away from John and ran to Savannah, he had appeared behind Derek.

"Oh my God, Allison? What happened? Where have you been? Are you alright?"

A thousand questions bombarded her at once. "Yes, I'm fine. Skynet captured me. I was able to escape."

She quickly launched into her story. John listened as he sat down against the wall. He idly watched the German shepherd walk passed into the compound. _What is she up to now?_ He focused his attention on said Skynet captured her. They took care of her and fed her. She didn't know what they planned to do with her. A man named John Henry had helped her escape. John froze, and Savannah gasped.

Kyle stopped the story. "Wait, who is John Henry? And where is he?"

"I'm not sure. He never said. He may have been another prisoner, I don't know. He was shot during our escape. I… I don't know if he made it." Allison looked at her feet. She hoped she delivered her lines well enough.

A soldier who was hidden in the shadows spoke up. "We should attack the factory before they take anybody else."

Kyle shook his head. "No, no. We don't know enough about it. We can't just go in guns blazing and hope for the best."

"We know plenty," Derek cut in. "The recon missions have gathered enough data. We could make it in to do enough damage. We have the man power, and the means. He's right, we should destroy the factory."

John thought he saw the soldier smile, before he slinked away down the corridor. Moments later, the German shepherd returned. Glancing at John, it ran past in the direction it came.

"Well, then," Kyle said. "What are we waiting for? Gather the troops. We'll leave at dark."

John stood up. "Why? With their night vision, we'll be the only ones at a disadvantage. We're better off attacking as soon as possible. They won't expect an immediate attack."

Kyle nodded. "Fine. We leave in 15."

Everyone turned to hurry back to their quarters. There was no time to waste. John called out to Allison.

She stopped and turned to face him. "Yes?"

"When you escaped… was there anyone else with John Henry?"

Allison was tempted to tell him the truth, but she kept her word. She wasn't sure why, but something told her it was important. "No. It was just him."

John was disappointed, but tried not to let it show. "You should stay here, you know. They'll be looking for you. If they catch you again, you won't be so lucky.

Allison nodded. "Yeah, I know. While I hate staying behind, I don't think I have the energy to be of much help." She was also told to stay behind by that thing that calls itself Catherine Weaver.

John clasped her left shoulder. "Then stay and get some rest. We'll all be back shortly. It'll be fine." He tried giving her a reassuring smile.

"Yeah… we'll see.

* * *

They managed to make it close enough to the factory that they could see it. Six men, including John, were scouting closer. John was moving West with his group slowly, keeping hidden amongst the debris. He hadn't seen any machines so far, but that didn't mean they weren't there.

Catherine Weaver had joined them in her dog form. She was currently walking ahead of him, effectively scouting ahead. John was glad for her presence. It made him feel a tad less nervous.

That all flew out the window when he saw her stop. The scruff on the back of her neck rose, and he heard a low growl. He signaled to the men behind him, and ducked behind an old tipped over pickup truck. He waited, listening intently, and heard the unmistakable sound of an HK approaching. As it passed overhead, John fervently hoped it hadn't spotted them. His heart leapt in his throat when it mad a U-turn and flew back in their direction. Ready to fire, and run if necessary, John sighed in relief when the HK simply passed them again.

"That was too close. We need to keep moving."

John jumped at the sound of the voice behind him, but recognized it immediately. He turned around to face her. "Allison, I thought you were staying at the com…pound." His voice died on the last word, and he stared at the woman in shock. He knew immediately he had been mistaken. This wasn't Allison; it was Cameron.

"C… Cameron?" John reached towards her, as if he didn't believe what he was seeing.

Cameron's eyes flashed blue when John's hand made contact with her face. It was an involuntary reaction on Cameron's behalf, as a shock surged through her skin. She had no idea what had just happened. There wasn't any time to analyze it though.

"John?"

John had been staring at her in wonder. He saw her eyes flash, and thought it was her way of affirming his question, although he didn't need it. His thumb was idly stroking her cheek. "Yeah?"

"It's time to go."

A sense of déjà vu brought John back to his senses. He blushed, realizing what he'd been doing, and quickly pulled his hand away. "Yeah… sorry."

John could have sworn he saw Cameron smile as she stood and turned to Weaver, who was now standing in her human form a few feet away.

"Are you ready, Mr. Connor?"

John took a deep breath. "Yeah, let's go."


	8. Chapter 8

**This is the largest chapter installment so far. I could have split it into two, but I had promised some people certain scenes to be in this chapter, and I did my best to deliver. So here is double the pleasure, chapter 8. Enjoy!**

* * *

Catherine Weaver led John and Cameron to the side of the factory, where they could see an entrance, and two 888s guarding the door. John had sent the others in his group back to Derek. They would be attacking from the front shortly.

"Um, Ms. Weaver, not that I don't trust that you have a good plan and all but… what are we doing?"

"We're going home Mr. Connor."

"Home? As in, back… in time? We can do that?"

Weaver gave him an exasperated look, as if he'd asked if grass was green. "Yes, John, we can go home. You didn't really think I'd jump time, let alone let you follow, if I wasn't sure we would be able to go back one way or the other, did you?"

John had the grace to look embarrassed. "Well, no I just… never mind. I assume Skynet has a TDE built in here somewhere?"

"Yes. It's in the basement."

John rolled his eyes. "Of course it is."

John Henry suddenly appeared, as if out of nowhere. "I've checked the perimeter, and this remains the most logical entrance."

"Excellent," Weaver responded. "I'll take care of the guard dogs. You three follow behind."

Weaver quickly took care of the two T888s, and they entered the building.

****************************

* * *

Once inside, it was surprisingly quiet. They could hear the attack starting outside. John assumed most of the machines were probably out fighting, not expecting anyone to be able to sneak in.

They made their way down the empty corridor, and down a flight of stairs. There weren't any problems getting through locked doors. With three terminators, the doors didn't stand a chance. It was almost too easy.

They reached the basement, and followed John Henry to the correct room. They watched him kick the door repeatedly, each hit resulting in a large dent in the metal door. It was taking longer than the other doors, and John assumed it was a lot heavier to protect what was inside.

Finally, the door had buckled and dented enough that there was a small opening along the doorframe. John watched as Catherine Weaver liquefied and literally squished herself through the hole. He was completely fascinated, until something caught his attention out of the corner of his eye. It was a T888, aiming at Cameron.

"Cameron!" John screamed, and without thinking, pushed her out of the way. At the same time, the T888 had fired. The bullet hat missed its target, but found another.

John yelped in pain as his arm suddenly felt like it was on fire. He looked down to see blood coming out of the bullet hole on the sleeve of his jacket. He could feel even more blood running down his arm, and the pain made him nauseous.

"John!" Cameron grabbed John as he fell into her, collapsing to his knees. She had processed the situation just a second too slow, and John paid for it. She didn't know why he pushed her out of the way. She could take a bullet, he couldn't.

Cameron was suddenly charging the triple 8. She slammed her fist into the side of his face, and followed up with a backhand in the other direction. She then grabbed him by the shoulders and pushed him into the wall.

Her HUD was flashing in her eyes.

_WARNING! POWER SURGE OVERLOAD! SYSTEM SHUTDOWN IMMINENT. PLEASE STANDBY. _

Cameron ignored it. She was too focused on the triple 8 to heed the warning. She grabbed the gun out of its hands and shot its head until half of it was missing. It was effectively terminated. She dropped the gun and turned towards John.

_WARNING! POWER SURGE OVERLOAD! SYSTEM SHUTDOWN IN 5… 4…_

_OVERRIDE ATTEMPT DENIED…_

_SYSTEM SHUTDOWN IN 3… 2…_

"John…"

John watched as Cameron walked towards him, her eyes glowing blue. She reached her hand out to him, and called his name… then froze. Her eyes slowly stopped glowing, and she stood there, arm stretched out, as if she was a Greek statue. John got up and grabbed her face.

"Cameron… CAMERON!" There was no response. He turned to John Henry, who had watched the whole thing, with an undeniable look of amazement on his face. "What the hell happened to her?!"

John Henry shrugged his shoulders, in a very human way. "I can't be sure John, but I would guess she temporarily shut down. She should reboot in 100 seconds now."

"Why did she shut down? Was she hurt?" John was starting to panic. He grabbed and held Cameron's outstretched hand, and stared at her, fear in his eyes.

"I can't be sure, John," John Henry repeated. "I would guess she had a power surge overload."

John tore his eyes away from Cameron's and stared, confused, at John Henry. "A what? You mean like, what happened to the microwave during a storm last year when lighting hit? How the hell did she have a power surge?"

"It's similar to an adrenaline rush in humans. You get a sudden burst of power and strength."

"But that only happens to people in special circumstances, like when they're extremely afraid or angry. "

John Henry tilted his head and regarded John, much like Cameron would do when she didn't understand something. John almost laughed at the similar gesture.

"For a human so intelligent, and destined to lead mankind, you're not very observant. We need to work on that"

John raised his eyebrows, having no clue what John Henry was talking about. He _was_ certain, however, that he'd just been insulted.

At that moment, the door to the TDE room opened, and Catherin Weaver appeared in the doorway. "We must hurry, I don't know how long I'll be able to… what happened here?" He eyes moved from John's bullet wound, to Cameron's statuesque form, to John Henry's blank and innocent face, back to John. John looked at the demolished terminator still embedded in the wall, and Catherine followed his gaze with her own. Curious, she stepped into the hall to get a closer look. Tilting her head, she observed the destroyed machine. John had the sudden urge to laugh again. _Skynet must be a dog owner_. Catherine looked at John Henry, and although their faces remained still, John would have sworn they were communicating somehow. He looked back and forth between the two until Catherine nodded, and headed back to the room. "Remind me not to piss her off."

John heard the telltale electrical sounds that told him Cameron was rebooting. He let out a sigh of relief, and waited for her eyes to focus. When they did, they focused directly on his own.

"Are you alright, Cameron?"

"Yes, John. I'm sorry. I had a power surge. I automatically shut down to avoid damage." She glanced at his arm. "Your arm…"

"It's fine, just a flesh wound. It can wait till we get back."

"It'll have to," John Henry cut in. "We haven't much time left. We must go now, before others arrive. Ms. Weaver has infiltrated the room security, and blocked Skynet's access temporarily. There's no telling how soon it'll be back online."

John nodded, and started following John Henry into the room. He was stopped suddenly, and when he looked back, he saw Cameron staring at their still joined hands. He gave her hand a light squeeze, and she moved her gaze up to his. They stared into each other's eyes, both pondering the same question, until a voice broke the moment.

"_Now_, Mr. Connor."

John turned, and hurried into the room. Cameron followed behind, never letting go of his hand.

********************************

* * *

Savannah sat on the bed, coloring in her new coloring book that Mr. Ellison had brought her. The TV was on with the volume down low, but Savannah wasn't paying attention to the 5 pm news. She was coloring a fish, with purple fins and a yellow body.

She could hear Sarah and Mr. Ellison talking outside. Sarah was nice; she liked her. Last night, she had tucked her in just like her mommy used to do, and told her a story. Mommy didn't do that anymore.

"Hmm… I'm going to make your eyes blue. John Henry likes blue too."

She felt sad thinking about her friend, and wished he was there to play with her. She didn't know where John Henry went. Sarah told her that he went on a trip with Mommy and John, and they'd be back soon. She hoped soon was _really_ soon. She was getting bored.

Savannah crawled off the bed and walked to the TV. After a couple tries, she found the channel button and started looking for cartoons. She stopped, though, when she reached another news station. She recognized who was talking on the screen.

"Sarah!"

When there was no response, she called again louder. "Sarah! Mr. Ellison!"

Sarah ran back into the room, Ellison right behind her. Her hand was on her gun in the back of her waste band, ready for anything. "Savannah, what is it?"

"Mommy's on TV!"

**********************************

* * *

"Regardless of the unfortunate events that happened here yesterday, Zeira Corp will continue its research of…"

John wasn't really listening. He sat on the couch, staring blankly at the TV. They had "bubbled" back to the present in, of all completely unsurprising places, the basement of Catherine Weaver's home. They had only been back for three hours, and John was doing his best not to fall asleep.

Catherine had found them clothes to wear, John guessing they were the previous owners. Or more specifically, Savannah's real parents.

John wasn't a fan of time travelling. The whole stark naked thing never got any easier. Just thinking about it made John blush.

"John, we need get the bullet out of your arm." Cameron had lightly grasped his arm, and was analyzing the entry wound carefully.

John tried his best not to look, but as any teenage boy would find it difficult to resist, his gaze took in Cameron's naked form. _Oh my God._

"Cameron… um… we should, um… " He couldn't get the words to come out of his mouth. He could feel the heat burning his face, and knew he was red.

Cameron tilted her head to the side in that adorable puppy dog way. "I've seen you naked before, John."

At that moment, John wished the bullet would have killed him, as he surely was going to die of embarrassment right then and there. "Yeah, but… um… uh, it's kinda cold." _It's kinda cold? You are such an idiot._

"It's 71 degrees in here, and your body temperature is elevated above normal." Cameron deadpanned.

_Oh my God… please just kill me now. What the hell is she trying to do? _ "Yeah… um…"

"Here are some clothes. They'll be big, but they should do for now." Catherine set a pile of clothes down in the steps and returned back upstairs.

John sighed in relief and practically flew to the clothes. This time, he was positive he saw the smile on her face.

John switched the channel on the TV. SpongeBob was obnoxious enough to take his mind off of inappropriate things.

Cameron stood in front of John Henry as he removed the bullets from her back. She had almost forgot about them, as it seemed like days ago that she saved Allison from Skynet.

Allison. She knew it shouldn't have mattered whether or not she saved her, but somehow it did. Cameron was glad she saved her, even though that future didn't exist anymore. It made her feel better, as if she somehow made up for killing her the first time. She had observed John's reaction upon Allison's return, and noticed he was pleased. As he hugged her, Cameron had seen the look of relief on his face, and it had made her feel… something.

It was the same something that she used to feel when John would hang out with Riley, and ignore her. She wasn't sure what it was, but she didn't like it.

Since being reactivated after giving John Henry her chip, Cameron had been running a subroutine to try and figure out what had changed in her programming. She had no mission, and she had been _feeling_ things a lot differently, and a lot more frequently. This concerned her greatly.

Cameron knew she was capable of emotion, at least to some degree. It was what made her Skynet's best and most advanced infiltrator. Normally, though, the emotion was under her control, and she only used it while in infiltration mode. After the car explosion, things had started to change. She was feeling things out of her control, and it was affecting her judgment and decision-making

"Last one." John Henry said, as he pulled a bulled from her lower left back. The other wounds had already started to heal.

"Thank you." She put her shirt back on, and helped John Henry clean up.

When they finished, Cameron returned to the living room to find that John had fallen asleep. She lightly touched the back of his neck, and did a scan. He was fine, just tired. She moved to sit beside him on the couch, when she heard a noise outside.

"John Henry, someone is here."

John Henry was already accessing the security system wirelessly. Weaver had rebuilt him with that capability, but he'd never had the need to use it before. He accessed the perimeter cameras and scanned. He recognized who it was, and smiled.

"It's Sarah Connor and Savannah."

*******************************

* * *

John Henry opened the front door as Sarah walked up the steps. She instantly drew her gun and pointed it at him, holding Savannah behind her.

"Hello Sarah. I'm glad you came. Please, come in."

"John Henry!" Savannah pulled out of Sarah's grasp and ran to John Henry. Sarah watched as the machine she knew best as Cromartie, knelt down and hugged the child. She slowly lowered her gun.

"Is mommy here too?"

"No, not yet. But your friend John is here."

Savannah smiled, and ran into the house. Upon hearing her son's name, Sarah followed suit.

"John!" Upon hearing his name called, John started awake. He looked around, and saw his mother running towards him.

"Mom…" He stood up just in time for her to nearly tackle him. She hugged him tightly, and he grimaced as the pressure shot pain up his arm. "Mom… my arm…"

"What? Oh… Oh my God John what happened?" Sarah had pulled away, and John noticed that her cheeks were wet with tears. She looked at him questioningly, touching the bandage on his arm.

"Well, it's a long story. Let's just say I got in the way of a bullet. Cameron fixed me, it'll be fine."

At that, Sarah finally noticed the terminator standing behind him. She glanced over her body, head to toe. "I see you're all fixed."

"Yes, I'm all fixed."

Sarah looked again at Cameron's left hand. "How's your head?"

"My head is fine. It did not obtain any damages."

Sarah rolled her eyes, and John smirked. "She meant your chip, Cam."

"Oh, thank you for explaining. I am all fixed. My chip is fine." John's use of the diminutive wasn't lost on Cameron or Sarah. Neither chose to comment on it.

Savannah, who had thus far been patiently waiting her turn, tugged on John's hand. He looked down and smiled at her, and knelt down on one knee. "Hello Savannah."

"Hi." She smiled. "Are you hurt?" She asked, while pointing to his bandaged arm.

"Oh, it's ok. Just a scratch. Cameron put a big band-aid on it. It feels better now," he lied with a smile.

"Oh, I have lots of pretty band-aids. You want to see?"

"Uh, sure."

With a huge smile, Savannah grabbed his hand and dragged him down a hallway towards the bathroom, leaving Sarah and Cameron in the living room.

They regarded each other in silence for a long moment, until Sarah finally asked, "how did he get shot?"

"He pushed me out of the way."

The shock on Sarah's face was clear. "Why the hell would he do something stupid like that?"

"I don't know. I have not had the chance to ask him yet."

"Who was shooting at you?" Sarah was curious as to whether it was a machine, or a human.

"A T888."

"What happened to it?"

A look akin to mischief flashed across Cameron's face. "I destroyed it."

Sarah raised an eyebrow at this, but turned as John and Savannah entered the room. She couldn't help but giggle at the band-aids that were now placed over the gauze on his arm. "Wow… are those Disney Princess band-aids? How _pretty_, John." John glared at her, while Savannah's grin got wider.

Cameron looked thoughtfully at the bandages as Savannah approached her. "This one's for you. Ariel is my favorite, she has red hair like me." The girl smiled, as she stuck a band-aid on a cut that was almost healed on Cameron's arm. Cameron looked her new bandage, noting the half human, half fish creature on it. She looked at the bandages on John's arm, and noticed they all had different cartoon females on them. "Which one is your favorite, John?"

Sarah lost it, and John covered his face with his hand.

*******************************************

* * *

John lay on the bed in the guest room, staring at the ceiling. He was exhausted, but there was too much on his mind for him to fall asleep.

His mom had made pancakes for dinner. Having not ate "real" food for weeks, John inhaled pancake after pancake, burnt ones and all, until he was certain his stomach would explode. Catherine Weaver returned home, and put Savannah to bed. She had explained that for now, this was the safest place for them to be, and lead him and Sarah each a spare bedroom.

His arm hurt, and his stomach was full, yet he couldn't remember the last time he had felt so comfortable. After sleeping on the hard ground for weeks, laying on a soft bed felt like heaven.

A soft knock on his door broke him out of his reverie. "Come in," he called out softly. Expecting to see his mother, John was surprised to see Cameron peering at him in the doorway.

"Hi." He noticed she was now in something closer to pajamas, having to keep up appearances for Savannah.

"Hi." She shut the door quietly, and walked over to his bed. John moved over as she sat down next to him.

_There's that déjà vu again_. He just looked at her, waiting for her to say whatever she had come to say. She didn't disappoint.

"Why did you go to the future?"

John felt his heart start to race. He knew this question would come, from both his mother and Cameron. He wasn't sure which he dreaded more. Now that he was faced with it, he had absolutely no idea what to say.

Cameron watched John's face change from fear, to embarrassment, to something she couldn't quite describe. She waited patiently for him to answer, who own face giving nothing away.

John decided on the safest answer he could come up with. "Why do you think I went?"

Cameron wasn't expecting this. _Answering a question with a question_. He was avoiding the question, but she wouldn't let him. It was not her turn to answer.

"I asked you first."

_Damn it._ John knew he was caught, and had to answer. He thought about lying, coming up with some lame answer that probably wouldn't have made any sense. But as he looked at Cameron, he felt himself give in. Her wavy hair framing her face, she looked like a beautiful, innocent girl. In her eyes he saw nothing but honest devotion. She deserved the same in return, he thought. He took a deep breath, and hoped for the best, whatever that was.

"When we got to the basement, and I saw your body… I immediately knew you weren't activated. When I saw your chip was gone, I was scared, angry, confused… When Weaver said you had given it to him, I felt betrayed. How could you have just left me like that? But then, my mother pointed your message on the monitor. Weaver fired up the TDE and my decision was made. I had to get you back. I couldn't let him have you, I couldn't let him take you, wherever he went. I needed you."

"It was dangerous to go, John. You could have been killed. You didn't know where you were going or what you were getting into. As it was, you realize now how important you are to the future. The entire future changed without you. You can't let that happen. Humanity loses without you. You shouldn't have gone. Future John would have sent back another protector for you."

John realized she still wasn't quite getting it. He closed his eyes and leaned his head against the headboard. When he opened them again, she was still staring at him, waiting for him to respond.

"You're right. I would have sent another protector back eventually. I always do."

Cameron was surprised, and even a little… hurt. She hadn't expected John to agree with her, or not put up some sort of argument. She wasn't sure why that hurt her, but it did.

There was something else though… she noticed he didn't use "Future John", as she did. He responded in the first person. That made her feel a little pride. John was beginning to see that he and future John were one in the same. He was beginning to become the man he would be in the future.

John saw _something_ flash across her face, but it quickly disappeared back to the stoic machine look. She looked away, eyes moving slightly back and forth. John watched her for a few moments before he continued.

"But… that protector wouldn't have been you."

Cameron quickly brought her eyes back to John's. She thought about what he said, and realized it wasn't quite logical.

"It could have been. Skynet may still find reason to model a terminator after Allison Young in your future, there's no reason to believe they wouldn't create me again."

John shook his head. "No. Skynet may create another terminator modeled after Allison; another Cameron Philips. I may even have chosen to send that terminator back. But it wouldn't have been you. I didn't go to the future to find another Cameron. I went to the future to bring back my Cameron."

A hint of a smile played across Cameron's lips. John smiled in return. She finally figured it out in that dense head of hers. Cameron felt a strange warm feeling spread through her body. She quickly did an analysis, but her HUD displayed no abnormalities. She'd need time to analyze it further.

Returning John's smile, Cameron stood up. "Thank you for explaining."

What happened next surprised both Cameron and John. She leaned forward, and kissed him on the cheek.


	9. Chapter 9

**Here's another long chapter. It seems to be becoming habit. Oh well. This chapter is mainly about exploration and answers, something the show did _not_** **do well, especially when it came to our favorite terminator. We'll get back to plot next time. I promise, it's still there. There's also a bit of extra fluff in the middle here... I was _really_ bored at work, and that was the result... *blush*. Hope you enjoy!**

**

* * *

**

Cameron quietly shut the door to John's room. She was still trying to figure out why she had kissed him on the cheek. She just _did_ it, without thinking. John didn't seem upset by it, though, and she was glad. She didn't want to do anything to make him mad at her again.

She really had to figure out what was going on with her. She went downstairs and found John Henry sitting on the couch, apparently watching TV. She walked around the couch to sit beside him.

After a moment, John Henry turned to look at her. "There's nothing wrong with you, or your chip, so you don't have to bother asking."

"There has to be. I have no mission."

"I deleted your mission. You didn't need it anymore. You were a danger to John if you ever obtained any damage to your chip again. I removed all malicious code planted by Skynet. Your base code is still there, that's who you are, but the limitations on your functions that were set by Skynet are no longer there. I also removed all of your mission parameters, including those programmed by future John. "

Cameron was surprised that John Henry was able to remove Skynet's coding. She was unable to do it herself, and future John was either unable to, or chose to leave it. But why would he delete her mission to protect John Connor? "I have to have a mission. Without a mission, I'll go into standby mode. I will no longer have a purpose."

"You haven't yet gone into standby. I don't have a mission, but I still have a purpose. So do you. This time, though, it's up to you to find your own purpose. Nobody will give it to you. You're free to choose for yourself." With that, John Henry returned to watching the television.

Free to choose for herself? That wasn't a concept that came naturally to her. She was built and designed for missions. To be told what to do. All she did was follow directions and protocol.

If she really had the freedom to choose, and she really had no mission, then that meant… she didn't have to protect John. So then, why was she still here?

Would she choose to go somewhere else, or do something else?

* * *

John woke the next morning to the smell of bacon frying in the kitchen.

_Wait. Bacon? Oh my God, mom's going to burn the house down._ John leapt out of bed and ran down the steps. What he saw in the kitchen, though, was the last thing he expected.

Savannah sat at the kitchen table watching Cameron cooking at the stove. There was bacon sizzling in a pan, and as he watched, she carefully flipped an over easy egg out of another pan onto a plate. "Good morning, John," she said, without looking.

"Morning."

Cameron turned and set the plate down in front of Savannah. "There you go, sweetie."

"Thank you." Savannah smiled, and picked up her fork. Returning her smile, Cameron went back to the stove.

"How would you like your eggs, John?"

John was still trying to figure out if he was dreaming. "Uh, scrambled is fine."

Cameron nodded, and began cracking eggs into a bowl. John moved to sit at the table, but Cameron stopped him.

"Would you get Savannah some juice, please?"

"Uh, sure." He detoured to the cabinet and retrieved two glasses. He thought for a moment, then asked, "would you like some too?"

Cameron smiled, surprised he had asked her, even though she did not need to consume anything. "Thank you, I would. You should get some for Sarah as well, I hear she is awake now."

John nodded and retrieved two more glasses. He then filled them with orange juice and set them down at the table. He took a seat by Savannah and smiled at her. He looked at her plate and noticed that her toast was cut in long rectangular slices, easier for small hands to dip. His eyebrows furrowed as he wondered how Cameron would have thought to do that.

When Sarah arrived downstairs, she was even more surprised to see Cameron cooking. It wasn't that she had never cooked before, it was that she was cooking something she never saw anyone make. She observed Sarah making pancakes frequently, so it wasn't surprising when she chose to cook them. But nobody ever made eggs and bacon for breakfast in the Connor household.

John thought her face was almost comical as she stood there staring at Cameron like she had grown horns and a tail overnight. "Morning, mom"

"Good morning Sarah!"

"Morning guys… what do we have here?" She tore her eyes away from Cameron and walked to the kitchen table. She patted Savannah on the head, and kissed John on the forehead before taking a seat beside him.

"Cameron made eggs and bacon. She made mine dippy cause they're my favorite." Savannah smiled, egg yoke smeared on her cheek.

Cameron brought two steaming plates of scrambled eggs, bacon and toast, and set them in front of John and Sarah. John smiled and thanked her, Sarah just looked shocked that she had made her breakfast as well. Cameron returned to the table with her own plate.

Sarah watched her curiously as she took a bite of egg. She wondered idly what happened to it. Did she taste it? Did her body process it? Or did it just go into some sort of collection chamber where she just "dumped" it out later? She shook her head and took a bite of her own eggs, surprised when she tasted cheese and a dash of pepper. _She must be watching the food network_.

John was busy tearing into his breakfast like a starving wolf. Sarah made a mental note to try adding a little variety to his diet, other than pancakes and pizza. As she watched his hand pick up a slice of bacon, she noticed that the bones in his hand were a little more prominent than they used to be. Under his baggy clothes, she couldn't examine his body closer, but his face showed a slight hollowness that wasn't there before.

"Cameron, how much weight has John lost?"

Cameron looked at John before answering, as if asking permission. She turned her eyes to Sarah and said, "about 7% of his total body weight."

Sarah looked at John worriedly. "What the hell happened to you, John?"

"Mom…" He could see this conversation escalating out of control, and he really didn't want that while he was enjoying the best breakfast he had had in months. "I was in the future for three weeks. It happens. It's not like they had gourmet chef terminators cooking their every meal." Cameron smirked. "I still don't know what kind of meat they put in that broth."

"Three weeks? You were gone three whole weeks?" Sarah looked at Cameron, expecting a logical answer to be given.

"We should discuss this later," was all Cameron said. She looked to her right to see Savannah was finishing up her juice.

Sarah got the point. "Savannah, why don't you go brush your teeth and get dressed." The girl nodded, and took her plate to the sink.

"Where are Weaver and John Henry?"

"Ms. Weaver is at Zeira Corp, beginning the relocation process. John Henry is acquiring our things at the old house."

"What are we supposed to do?"

"Watch Savannah."

"Right. I'm going for a walk. Would you like to go for a walk with me?" She asked Savannah, who had returned from the bathroom. She smiled and nodded, and skipped back to her room to retrieve her shoes.

* * *

John dried the breakfast dishes as Cameron washed. Sarah and Savannah left a short while ago, promising they'd stay close to the house. Cameron didn't like the idea, but knew better than to argue safety with Sarah Connor.

"Hey, Cameron?"

"Yes, John?"

"Why did you do it?"

"Do what, John?" She had a suspicion he wasn't talking about making breakfast.

"Why did give John Henry your chip?"

"John Henry needed a chip to be mobile. He will be of great help to you in the future war."

"Couldn't' we have gotten another T888 chip or something?"

"No. His AI is too advanced for a 888 chip. He needed a chip like mine. My body was useless. I would not be an effective protector for you. I chose to give him my chip, so he could continue to help you."

John leaned against the counter and looked out the window. "Ok, but if you had already given him your chip, why did he need to go to the future?"

"He didn't need to go, John. He wanted to. He wanted to see the future for himself. The more he understood, the more he could help you. He also wanted to return the favor to me. I gave him a chip, he wanted to give me a new body. We wouldn't be able to share a chip forever. He would have eventually had to delete me. He didn't think that was fair, so he went to the future, seeking future John's help. Unfortunately, you know what happened from there, but it all worked out. Skynet built me again, and in the process, also created another advanced chip identical to mine of course. John Henry and I were able to separate and have our own chips. He returned to me my original chip."

John felt a little guilty for blaming John Henry for stealing Cameron's chip. But how was he supposed to have guessed such a convoluted story as the truth?

"But isn't your chip still damaged?"

"No. John Henry fixed it."

"Oh. So I don't have to worry about you suddenly glitching and trying to kill me?"

Cameron turned and mimicked John's posture. "No. I will never kill you, John."

"How can you be so sure? It was just, well, technically the other day, that you said you might some day."

Cameron explained what John Henry had told her last night.

"So, wait… you basically have free will? You can basically do whatever you want?"

"Basically…"

"And he basically just, removed all of Skynet's bad parts out of you, right?"

"Right."

"So… if you don't have a mission, then… you technically don't have to protect me. Right?"

"Right."

"So why are you here then?"

Cameron turned her head and peered out the window, glad of the coming distraction. This was not the time and place to be discussing this.

"John Henry is back."

* * *

John was hanging his clothes up in the closet. Until Weaver had acquired a new safe house somewhere, they would be staying with her and Savannah.

There was a soft knock on his door.

"Come in."

His mother peeked around the door. "Mind some company?" John shook his head.

Sarah walked to the bed and automatically started folding his underwear and putting them away in the dresser.

"Is there, um, something you wanted to talk about?"

Direct as usual. He got that from her. Sarah sighed. "Will you tell me what it was like?"

The clothes had been finished for two hours. Sarah sat on the bed, tears silently rolling down her face. John sat on the floor, his back against the wall, idly playing with a rubber band from his computer equipment. He had told her every detail he could remember, from the moment he arrived in the future, to the moment they left. He had finally finished telling his three weeks worth of stories, and didn't quite know what else to say, as his mother sat crying, staring off into her own universe.

"Mom?"

Sarah shook her head and wiped her cheeks with her sleeve. "Yeah, sorry. It's just a lot."

"I know. It was really overwhelming for me first too."

"I have to ask you something."

John knew it was coming. Once again, the conversation he most dreaded. _Here we go again_.

"I did it because I had to do it."

Sarah looked at him, all signs of sadness gone, replaced by stubborn anger. "Why John? You could have gotten yourself killed. You…"

"Why are you wasting your time asking me something you already know the answer to?"

Sarah paused, acknowledging the truth in his words. She did already have the answer, she just wanted to hear John say it. She didn't know why, but she needed to hear it. Until then, perhaps, she could be in denial. She preferred denial.

John stood and moved to sit beside his mom on the bed. He wrapped his arms around her and hugged her. "I love you mom. I'm sorry I left you."

Sarah felt tears fall once more. "I love you too, John. Just don't ever do that again."

John smiled. "I won't. I promise."

Sarah pulled away and reached into her pocket. She pulled out an old pocket watch that John recognized immediately.

"How did you get that?"

"It was what was left… when you disappeared." Sarah carefully opened it. "What is it?"

"It was a gift from Cameron."

"She has odd taste."

John rolled his eyes. "It's a remote detonator."

"For what?"

John looked down. "For her. She had placed a small amount of explosive near her chip. She said she wasn't capable of self-termination. If she ever went bad again, all I had to do was press the switch."

Sarah was speechless. It was nothing she had ever expected. Cameron had put her "life" in John's hands, giving him the power to kill her at will. For a person, it was the ultimate sign of trust. For Cameron, it was the ultimate means of protection against herself. For a woman… Sarah wondered if John realized the enormity of the gift he was given. She quietly handed John the watch. "Did you give her anything in return?"

"Um… no?"

"Well, perhaps you should."

John watched his mother leave the room, looking at her as if she'd just grown a second head and danced the electric slide. _What the hell was that about?_

_

* * *

_

John meandered downstairs, not really having any idea what he planned to do once he got there. The house was quiet, and he briefly wondered where everyone was at. It didn't take him long to find out, when he heard the sounds of giggling out in the back yard. He opened the sliding door and stepped out in the sunshine, and quickly joined in the laughter.

Savannah was trying to teach Cameron how to hula-hoop, but was evidently not something a hyper-alloy combat chassis was designed for. Cameron looked determined to figure it out though.

"Yay you're doing it!" Savannah clapped as Cameron managed to spin the hoop six times around her waist before it dropped to the ground. John clapped as well.

"Bravo. I'm genuinely impressed."

Cameron smiled, and handed him the hoop. "Now it's your turn."

John simply stared at her. For one, he'd only ever seen that smile on her face once: the first day they met. He looked at Savannah, and realized she was probably in some sort of infiltration mode, trying to act like a normal person in front of the child.

Savannah laughed. "Yeah, John, you try it!"

"Uhh… it's not really a boy thing."

"Aww, we won't tell anyone! Promise!"

"Yeah," Cameron joined. "We won't tell anyone." Her face went serious. "Promise."

"Pleeeeeeeease"

He wasn't sure if it was the too-cute smile, the red hair, or the missing front tooth that did it, but he was conquered. _God I hope nobody's watching this._

"Okay…" He took the hoop and climbed in, and did his best impression of a Hawaiian belly dancer. The hoop fell right to the ground.

Savannah giggled as he tried again. And again.

"You know, John, I don't really think that's a boy thing."

John stopped dead. _Sonofabitch... kill me now_. He turned around, red faced, to force a smile at his mother.

"Well, it was worth a shot, right?"

Sarah tried to keep a straight face, but failed miserably. She held up a cell phone.

"You know, these new cell phones John Henry brought are great. Picture quality is fantastic."

"Mom. You didn't."

"We should put this out all over the Internet."

"Mom."

"Might save your life. Skynet would never believe you were the future leader of mankind."

"That's it. Cameron, kill her…. Cameron?"

He turned to see her holding another cell phone, and heard the tell tale _click_.

"That's a new shade of red, John."

John glared at her. "I'm going to disassemble you into pieces." He turned to his mother. "And beat _you_ to death with them."

"I want that picture Tin Miss."

"Sending."

* * *

John sat on his bed as Cameron cleaned his bullet wound. "It's healing fine. There's no infection."

"Yeah well it hurts like hell."

"Maybe a Disney Princess band-aid will help. Savannah says they make boo-boos feel better."

John looked at her. "Are you making fun of me?

Cameron looked up from her task. "Maybe."

John was a little baffled. "You've been doing a lot of that lately. In fact, you've been acting different in general. Is there something you didn't tell me?"

"No, I told you everything."

"Okay…" John thought for a moment. "Is there something that you could explain to me more?"

Cameron sighed in quite a human way. "I told you. John Henry removed the limits on my functions."

"And how does that explain your recent behavior?"

Cameron finished cleaning the wound, and began rewrapping it with fresh gauze. "Skynet built me to be the most advanced infiltrator they'd ever created. To do that, they had to give me an advanced system, capable of learning and processing emotions. It would be more convincing to humans, and make me seem normal. Just like I had you convinced when we first met. They had to set limits, though, to insure that I stayed under their control. They didn't want me to think or learn too much."

John was intrigued. "So… you can feel… emotions?"

"Yes."

"But are they real?"

"They are to me." Cameron looked at her hands. "When I touch you…" She caressed John's arm and watched goose bumps form under her touch. "Your nerves send an electric signal to your brain. If the touch is nice and you like it, your brain sends out chemical messages telling your body you enjoy it. That's emotion, right?"

"Yes." John looked at her, and before he thought too much about it, he reached out and caressed her cheek with the back of his hand. "And when I touch you?"

"My censors send a signal to my chip. If I like it, my chip tells my body to react accordingly."

"So… how do you know if you like something?"

Cameron wondered that herself. "I don't know, I just do."

"And how does your chip know how to react?"

Cameron cast her eyes to the floor, somewhat ashamed of the answer. "Human observation. A lot of it is pre-programmed from Skynet, although I'm still learning. Skynet observed human emotion closely for this project."

John considered this for a moment, then tilted her head up to look him in the eye. "So, what's the big deal? They sound real to me. I mean, humans are kind of pre-programmed with physical responses, we just call them "instincts". But, even we don't come hard-wired with everything. An infant learns facial expressions from watching others. As people grow up, they learn how to respond to different stimuli through experience. And no one experience any one emotion in the exact same way. You may process your experiences differently, and you may respond differently, but so does every single human being on the planet. You just go about it a little extra different."

"Do you care that I'm different?"

John shrugged. "If I did, I wouldn't have traveled 18 years into the future to rescue you."

"I wasn't in danger."

"Well I didn't know that. And speaking of which, you owe me an answer."

Cameron's face clearly showed confusion.

"Why are you here? You're not programmed with a mission from anyone, including future me, so you aren't forced to be here. So why?"

"What else would I do?"

John thought for a moment. "Well, I guess that's one way to look at it."

"You're my whole life, John."

John froze, completely speechless.

"Without you, I don't have any purpose. You saved me, more than once. When I infiltrated your Resistance camp, you didn't terminate me. Instead, you reprogrammed me, and gave me a second chance. You trusted me when no one else did. You still trust me. When I went bad, and you removed my chip, you didn't let them burn me. You reactivated me, and trusted me. I owe you my life, John. I'll die protecting you."

John was doing his best to hold back his tears. "You don't owe me anything. You've already died for me. I don't want that happening again."

"Then you should stop doing stupid things."

John chuckled. "Gee thanks. I'll try."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

John looked down at Cameron's arm, which still sported the Little Mermaid band-aid, covering the small gash that was almost already completely healed. He tried to remember how she got it, and it brought another question to mind.

"What happened at the factory?"

"I had a power surge, which forced me to shut down."

"Yeah I know. But why did you have a power surge?"

"I had an overload of emotion that I had never felt before. I didn't know what was happening. I didn't know how to handle it. It got out of control. My body sent extra power to my limbs, which made me stronger. I crushed the terminator's head with just two blows. I smashed it through a wall. The bullets only helped. If they didn't reach its chip, I would have simply smashed the head more until the chip was destroyed."

"You were upset because I got shot?"

Cameron tilted her head and played back the moment. "Yes, I was upset."

"Why did you shut down?"

"This body isn't built for such high power. To avoid damage, I automatically shut down."

"So, that's a stupid thing I'm not allowed to do anymore, I take it? Jump in front of my best friend and act as a bullet shield?"

"You're not allowed to jump in front of anybody…" Cameron briefly looked away, and returned to John's eyes. "Especially your best friend."

John smiled. "Okay, I can live with that. Getting shot isn't something I want to experience again any time soon."

Cameron touched his just under the bandage. She once again saw the hair on his arm stand up and goose flesh appear.

"You've been doing that a lot too."

Cameron quickly pulled away, as if she'd been burned. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be sorry."

"I don't know why I do it."

John grinned. "It's part of that learning process, you'll just have to figure it out."

Cameron glared at him. "Are you making fun of me?"

"Maybe."

Cameron flashed her eyes blue, but it only made John laugh. He stopped though, when he smelled something funny.

He sniffed again to make sure. "Shit. I think mom's burning the kitchen down."

"It's a likely possibility."

"Guess we're ordering pizza."

John stood up and offered Cameron a hand. She didn't need it of course, but she took it anyway. As they walked out of the room, Cameron asked, "Would you really disassemble me?"

John stopped, trying to figure out what she was talking about. When he remembered the earlier conversation, he chuckled and turned around. He reached in to his pocket and pulled out the pocket watch. He strung it around Cameron's neck, and looked into her eyes, all hint of humor gone. "Never." He sealed his promise with a kiss on her cheek.

Grabbing her hand again, he turned back to the stairs. "I _will_ get you back though."

"We'll see."


	10. Chapter 10

They had to open all the windows so as not to suffocate from the smell of burnt chicken. "Mom, what possessed you to cook chicken?"

"Shut up, John. Tin Miss, you're coming with me."

"Where are we going?"

"To get food."

"We can order a pizza."

"Not tonight. Let's go. John, keep an eye on Savannah."

John and Cameron looked at each other as Sarah headed for the door. Something bit his mom in the ass, and she was in one of her moods. That was never, ever good.

Sarah took the driver's seat and started the car. As they drove down the driveway, Cameron asked, "what kind of food are we getting?"

"I don't know yet."

Cameron looked out the window, scanning the area as they drove by. It wasn't safe for them to be out, but again, arguing safety with Sarah Connor wasn't the most productive idea.

"Did you ever think about my question?"

"What question?"

"Why are you here? Especially now, more than ever."

"I told you, I'm here to protect John."

"Well you haven't been doing a very good job at it, have you?. You get yourself destroyed, and then you just _give_ your chip to some unknown machine. You have my son so attached to you, that John just chases after you to the future where he could have gotten himself killed. Then, in the process of trying to get you back, he gets himself shot. Where were you when THAT happened? How did a machine manage to shoot him if you were there to _protect_ him?"

Cameron looked at the floor, not really knowing any way to argue with her at the moment. Sarah was mostly correct in her assumptions. She just refused to see the whole picture.

"There's a reason John sent you back; why he didn't want you around him anymore. Maybe Jesse was right. Maybe you're just not good for him."

Sarah pulled in to the drive-thru of a McDonald's, and ordered.

A lone tear rolled down Cameron's cheek. She wiped it away before Sarah could see.

Neither of them said anything more until they pulled up to the house. Before Sarah could open her door, Cameron spoke.

"You're wrong. John didn't send me away from him. He sent me to himself, to a time when he needed someone the most. Not just a machine protector, but a friend. I was a friend to John in the future. He didn't have many friends. It's lonely being John Connor now, and it'll always be lonely… If future John didn't want me, he would have destroyed me. I was the only one he trusted enough to send. If he didn't, he wouldn't have sent me. If he didn't trust _himself_, he would have sent another."

Cameron opened her door and stepped out. She turned to look at a silent Sarah. "You should ask John what happened at the factory." At this, she slammed the door and walked away, leaving Sarah in the car alone.

Sarah rested her head against the steering wheel. She really didn't know why she was being such a bitch. She was sick of hiding, sick of Skynet, scared for her son, and just damn tired of it all. It wasn't an excuse to take it out on Cameron, but she was there, and seeing the two of them walking down the stairs holding hands… She liked living in denial, and that wasn't helping her do that.

Sarah sighed, and grabbed the bags. She'd have to face her son now, that was for sure, and probably have to apologize to the tin miss. _What a freaking lovely evening this turned out to be._

*******

* * *

Cameron stalked through the door, letting the door slam shut behind her. John looked up from his game of Guess Who? with Savannah. Cameron's face showed no emotion, but her eyes did. She was pissed. Without even looking at John, she walked up the stairs. Instead of walking into the room she was technically "sharing" with Sarah (for Savannah's sake), she went into John's room and slammed the door shut.

Savannah looked at John. "Cameron's mad."

"Yeah, I know. My mom's back with dinner, so why don't you go wash up, ok?"

Savannah nodded, and headed for the bathroom.

John stood and crossed his arms, as Sarah walked in the door.

"What the hell did you say to her?"

"John…"

"No, don't you DARE "John" me! WHAT THE HELL DID YOU SAY TO HER?"

Sarah set the bags of food on the table. "We had a discussion."

"What… kind… of discussion?" John asked through gritted teeth.

"About you. About her. About you _and_ her."

"That's not your business or concern."

Sarah's fuse blew. "IT _IS_ MY BUSINESS! YOU ARE MY SON, YOU ARE MY BUSINESS. I DON'T CARE HOW OLD YOU ARE, I DON'T CARE WHO YOU BECOME SOME DAY. RIGHT NOW, YOU'RE JOHN CONNOR, MY 17 YEAR OLD SON, AND YOU ARE EVERY BIT MY BUSINESS. AND _SHE_ IS MY BUSINESS. I DON'T CARE WHO SHE IS, OR _WHAT_ SHE IS. IF SHE'S HERE, IF SHE'S WITH YOU, SHE'S MY BUSINESS."

John was speechless. His mother had never screamed at him like that in his entire life. He suddenly felt like he was five years old, and he didn't like it. He turned to walk up the steps.

"What happened at the factory?"

John stopped in his tracks, but didn't turn around. "What are you talking about?"

"Cameron told me to ask you what happened at the factory."

John turned around to look his mother in the eye. "A terminator came around the corner and aimed at her. I saw it first. I pushed her out of the way..." John turned and started up the stairs. He stopped on the third step, and without looking back he said, "If I had to go back, I'd do it again." At that, he continued up the steps to his room.

************

* * *

John lightly knocked on the door. "Cameron?"

There was no answer, but he opened the door anyway. He found Cameron sitting on the bed looking out the window. He sat beside her and took her hand.

"Cameron, I'm sorry for whatever my mom said to upset you."

"It's not your fault John," she replied, without removing her eyes from the window. "What she says is not your responsibility to apologize for."

"It doesn't matter. Whatever she said…"

"It does matter John. She's right. I put you in danger." She stood up and walked to the window. "I put you in danger when I'm supposed to protect you. You care too much for me. You risk yourself for me, and I can't let that happen anymore."

"What are you saying?"

"I have to go John. I can't be around you anymore. I can't let you risk…"

"STOP!" John jumped up from the bed and moved to Cameron's side. He grabbed her shoulders and turned her around, forcing her to face him. "Just stop it right now! You're not going anywhere." John's breathing was heavy, and his face was flushed with emotion. He cupped her face with his hands. "I can't let you go anywhere. I _won't_ let you go. I traveled eighteen years into the future just to find you, and I'm not about to lose you again. I love you, Cameron, and if you haven't figured that out by now, there is something seriously wrong with you in there." He tapped her head above her chip. "I don't give a rat's ass what my mother says. If you walk out that door, I'll follow. If you ever leave, I'll find you. I did it once, and I'll do it again."

Cameron stared at John as tears flowed uncontrollably down her face. There was that odd warm feeling again all over her body, and she was starting to figure out what it was. John gently wiped the tears from her cheeks with his thumbs, and kissed her lightly on the forehead. Looking into her eyes once more, he whispered "I love you," before leaning in to kiss her on the lips.

Sarah, wiping tears from her own eyes, quietly walked to her own room and shut the door.

**********

* * *

Her lips were surprisingly soft, and John felt a pleasant shock run through his body. Cameron, for her part, was a little unsure of herself. It was a lot to process at once. It wasn't the kissing part; that she'd done before. Future John had taught her well. But it had never made her feel like _this_. This was something entirely new, and her body was reacting in strange ways.

John slowly pulled away and smiled. He wiped the remaining wetness from her cheeks with his fingers, and clasped her hands.

"Come on, McDonald's French fries are disgusting when they're cold."

He turned and started walking towards the door, but was stopped, when the hand he was holding didn't budge. He turned to Cameron questioningly, but before he could even ask, her lips were on his. He instinctively wrapped his arms around her waste as the kiss deepened. Cameron her arms around his neck, her right hand lightly clasped in his hair, pulling him closer as her mouth opened, granting his tongue access to hers.

John slowly pulled away nearly gasping for breath.

Cameron lightly caressed his neck, feeling his pulse raise under her touch. "I think I love you too, John."

John raised an eyebrow. "You 'think'?"

"Yeah, I _think_. I have a lot of analyzing to do… we'll need to do that again to be sure." Cameron grinned.

John laughed, and poked her in the side. "This sense of humor you've developed is evil."

Cameron flashed her eyes blue, which only served to make John laugh harder.

"Come on, let's go make my mom uncomfortable." He took her hand again and this time, they made it to the door.

*****

* * *

They sat outside at the patio table watching the sun slowly set. John picked the pickles off his Big Mac before taking a bite.

Sarah was doing her best to avoid them, but as the house still reeked of burnt chicken, she wasn't having much luck. She was leaning against the wooden backyard play set, watching Savannah swing.

Cameron ate her sixth French fry, and checked her HUD for the time. "It's late. Catherine should be home by now."

John thought about that. _Was it really just this morning that Cameron made breakfast? God, this was the longest day of my life._

"Yeah. John Henry said she had already secured a location to move, though. She's probably working some kind of magic to get us the hell out of her house as soon as possible. Her and mom aren't exactly best friends."

"They can't stay here either, though. Savannah already had a terminator sent after her. They'll have to relocate as well."

John hadn't thought about that. "That really sucks for her." He looked at Savannah. "She's just a kid. She's not going to understand."

"You were just a kid, John. You understood."

"I was raised from the cradle on stories of killer robots and being the leader of mankind. I wasn't suddenly thrust upon this life when I was seven years old. That'll be a lot harder for her."

"I'm sure she'll survive. She'll have everyone around her who cares for her, and we won't be moving far. The resistance starts in L.A, and in only a couple of years if we don't stop Skynet. It would be a hindrance for us to move very far. We have too many leads to follow here. As for Savannah, she'll be with us."

"What do you mean she'll be with us?"

"We're not moving separately, John. At least, it's not what I would do." Cameron took a sip of John's now melted chocolate milkshake. She paused, looking at the cup thoughtfully, and didn't give it back. "Catherine Weaver is a T1001, not her mother. Her purpose is not to raise a child. She and John Henry are here to help you stop Skynet. If that's not possible, to help you win the war. Savannah is obviously important to the future, so it's necessary to keep her safe. If it wasn't, she would have surely killed her with the rest of the family."

John felt a little nauseous. The idea was cold and heartless. But John new better than that. He had seen Weaver's behavior in the future when it came to Savannah, and he found it a little difficult to believe that she didn't feel at least some small attachment to the child. "Well, it will definitely be an adventure."


	11. Chapter 11

**WAY TO GO PENS!!!!! PITTSBURGH'S BRINGING IT ALL HOME THIS YEAR!!!! FLEURY YOU'RE OUR HERO!!!!!!**

**Ok, now back to our regularly scheduled programming. :-)**

*********************************************************************************

An adventure it definitely was. It wasn't but three days later they were pulling up to their new house. With three machines that never slept, everything was packed in a fast, efficient manner.

John looked at the house as they pulled up the driveway. It was so "happy American family". Happy _rich_ family. It wasn't exactly a house he'd choose for clandestine activities, such as hiding 3 fugitives.

The front door opened to reveal John Henry. "Hello. Did you have a pleasant trip?"

"Yes, pleasant," Sarah responded, more than a bit sarcastically. She was still trying to avoid Cameron and John, which made the 2 hour car trip all the more wonderful.

John Henry smiled. "Good. You'll find your things already in your rooms upstairs."

As the three of them entered the house, they walked around the first floor before heading up the stairs. There was a large kitchen, with a dining room off to the left. The living room was furnished with a large TV and expensive plush furniture. There was also an office, with two computers already set up. At the top of the stairs, there was a full bathroom. To the left and right each there were two bedrooms. John headed to the left and looked in the first room. He found a set of bunk beds, a doll house, and a collection of stuffed toys. _Definitely not this one. Though, after the last house…_ The second room yielded his own belongings. It was a good bit larger, with a full bed, a desk, and two dressers. It must have been the master bedroom, he decided.

Sarah, who had headed to the right, found her room to be the first one. She liked it, having faster access to the exit, and the rooms on the other side.

"Did you find your stuff Tin Miss?" This was the first time in days that she'd directly addressed Cameron, who was in the hallway at the moment, analyzing the efficiency of the security camera angles.

"I assumed they put my clothes with yours."

Sarah shook her head and leaned against the doorway, crossing her arms. "They're not in here."

Cameron tilted her head.

John opened his closet, and was surprised to find it fairly expansive. _Hm, never had a walk-in closet before._ He noticed there were a lot more clothes than usual. Walking in, he found not only his old clothes, but a brand new wardrobe. _Nice, I'll have to thank her later. It's been a while since I had nice, new clothes._ He turned to check out the other side, but realized they weren't his clothes. He blinked. They were _definitely_ not his clothes. Walking out, he looked at the two dressers in the room. Checking the first, he found his own clothes neatly folded. Opening a drawer in the second, he found lots of pink, lace, and general underthings not belonging to him. _Definitely_ not his. "Hey, Cam?"

Cameron turned to see John walk out of his room. "They put your stuff in my… room." John paused, when he saw his mom staring at him from across the open expanse of the upstairs area. "Uh, John Henry must have screwed up, or, just thinking my room had more space…"

Sarah let him sweat for a few moments before turning and making her way back down the stairs, without saying a word.

****************

* * *

It was early evening when Catherine and Savannah arrived. Catherine, having a few leftover matters to handle at Zeira corp, let Savannah go to her school one last day.

From here on out, though, she was no longer Savannah Weaver. She was Savannah Taylor now. Her mommy had told her that last night. She'd have a new name, a new house, and a new school. She was okay with that. They were going to get to live with their friends still, and she liked that. John Henry was still her favorite playmate, but she liked playing games with John too, and Cameron would always play "girl stuff" whenever she asked. John wouldn't play with the hula hoop anymore.

"Why don't you go upstairs, Savannah. I think you'll like your room." Catherine gave her a nudge towards the stairs, and headed for the kitchen.

Savannah ran up the stairs and stopped. She didn't know which room was hers. She heard John talking in the open room on the left, so she decided she'd ask him. Quietly pushing the door the rest of the way open, she peeked in. John was sitting at a desk, talking to Cameron who stood behind him.

John looked up from his laptop and smiled. "Hey Savannah. Whatcha need?"

"I don't know where my room is."

"Oh that's easy. It's the one right next to this one. I bet you'll like it."

Savannah smiled and ran over to her own room. She opened the door, and found the light switch on the wall. She saw her dollhouse, and all her toys. What caught her attention most though, were the new bunk beds on the far side of the room. Excited, she ran back over to John's room. "I got bunk beds! Come look!" She grabbed Cameron's hand and pulled her towards her room.

Cameron and John obediently followed Savannah back to her room. "My friend Cassie had bunk beds, and they were sooo cool!" Letting go of Cameron's hand, she climbed up the ladder to the top bunk. "We can have a slumber party!"

Cameron turned to John. "What's a slumber party?"

*******

* * *

John sat between Cameron and his mother on the couch. Catherine Weaver stood in front of them, for once clad in jeans, and barefoot. The eyeliner was still there though, and he idly thought about suggesting she take lessons from Cameron.

Catherine handed out envelopes to each of them. "These are your new documents. I've checked and found them satisfactory."

John pulled out his new passport. It looked fine to him, even the picture was surprisingly decent. The first thing he noticed was the last name. _Taylor_. It was the one Sarah had used in the future. He noticed the birth date was also different. "Hey, I'm 21 now. Sweet." Sarah snorted beside him.

"So am I," Cameron replied.

John looked at her passport, confused. "You can't be. That wouldn't make any sense." He noticed her last name wasn't Taylor, it was Summers. "Well, that would explain it."

Catherine rolled her eyes, and began explaining their new life story. "Sarah…you're a widow, and you own this house. Your late husband was also my brother. When I lost my job, you offered Savannah and I a place to stay. She never knew her father. John and Cameron met in college, and they're on break for the summer." The rest was self-explanatory.

John approved of the new story. At least for his part, it was much easier to convince people he and Cameron were dating, rather than pretend to be siblings. Normal guys didn't hang out with their over protective sisters 24/7.

"John Henry is set up in the basement. He'll be focused on finding what he calls his "brother". He won't be leaving very often, and he will be constantly monitoring house security. I'm sure you've noticed the many cameras installed around the house and outside. It's as safe as we can make."

Sarah had her doubts. Living with one terminator was enough. Now she was living with three. She wasn't sure if it was triple the protection, triple the danger, or both.

*******

* * *

Cameron silently crept into the bedroom so as not to wake John. She had just gotten back from scouting the neighborhood. She found no threats, except for the neighbor's large dog. That could end up being quite a loud problem with three terminators living next door.

She took off her boots and placed them in the closet. As quietly as possible, she opened up her bottom drawer. Pulling out a set of pajamas, she undressed and slid into the pair of light cotton pants. She paused, hearing murmuring behind her. Looking over her shoulder, she saw John tossing and turning in bed. He was having another nightmare. She pulled on the tank top and walked over to the bed.

John suffered from frequent nightmares, as did Future John. Cameron gently brushed his hair away from his face with her fingers. He was hot and drenched in sweat, and he was breathing quite heavy. He moaned and muttered something agitatedly as she touched his forehead.

She pushed the covers off of him, leaving only the top sheet. She stopped to consider her next move carefully. Cameron knew what she used to do for Future John, but wasn't sure how this John would react. She watched him thrash around, and faintly heard him mutter her name. That decided it for her.

Slowly, she lay down on the bed, sliding under the sheet next to John. Wrapping her arm around his waste, she snuggled close. Unconsciously, he rolled over and pulled her closer to him. Rubbing his back, she whispered softly in his ear, coaxing him into a gentler sleep.

*******

* * *

John woke early, with the sunlight streaming through the windows onto his face. He slowly became aware of his surroundings. He heard pans banging around in the kitchen downstairs, and the soft sound of muffled voices. He was aware of how comfortable he was, which was a rare luxury. Slowly he opened his eyes, to find brown ones gazing back.

"Ahh!" John jumped, before his brain could catch up with him. "Holy shit, Cam, you scared me."

Cameron frowned. "I'm sorry, John. I didn't mean to."

John rubbed his face. "No, it's alright. What are you doing here?"

"I was waiting for you to wake up."

"Um, I meant what are you doing in bed with me?"

"You had a nightmare last night."

"So you just, crawled into bed?"

"I'm sorry," she said, as she sat up and tossed the sheet from her body.

"Woah, wait a minute. I didn't tell you to go." John grabbed her arm, and gently tugged her back down next to him. "I was just surprised, that's all. I wasn't complaining."

"Oh… thank you for explaining."

"You can crawl into bed with me any time you want."

Cameron smiled, as he traced her jaw with his fingers.

"Just don't stare at me. Freaks me out." He returned the smile.

"Ok. I'll close my eyes."

John laughed, and leaned in to kiss her softly. Cameron returned the kiss, sliding her arm around his waist.

John deepened the kiss, letting his own hand wander as his tongue found Cameron's. His hand found its way under her shirt, and caressed the bare skin it found.

Cameron's HUD was flashing. Sensors were going off everywhere, her body reacting in ways she never felt. She'd been close to John in the future. He'd often taken comfort in her arms. But they'd never been intimate. That John had been married to Kate Bruester. She had died two years before Cameron arrived, but John always held back, for reasons Cameron never knew. She knew that John cared for her, and in her way, she cared for John. But this… this was very different. Cameron turned her HUD off, annoyed at the flashing distracting her.

John could barely breathe, and had given up on thinking. His hand inched higher as his body moved closer, and slid his leg over hers.

There was a knock on the door. "John! John, are you up? Breakfast is done."

John stopped dead, his hand halfway to its goal.

"John?" Another knock.

"Yeah!" His voice cracked, and he sounded like he was seven years old. He quickly cleared his throat. "I'm up! "

"Are you alright?"

_Shit. _ "Yeah, I'm fine! I just… I'll be down in a minute!"

"Do you know where Cameron is? She's MIA, and not answering her phone."

John groaned. "Uhhh I'm sure she's fine. She's probably just out, um…" _Think, John, THINK! _"Just scouting the perimeter or something and forgot her phone."_ Yeah, because terminators conveniently "forget" important things like cell phones allll the time when they're supposed to be protecting the future leader of mankind. _

"That was lame," Cameron whispered. John just shrugged.

Sarah put her tongue in her cheek. _Uh… huh_. "I want both of you showered, dressed, and downstairs in ten minutes." She smiled at the silence that answered her, and walked away.

John sighed and collapsed on the bed.

"We are so busted."

Cameron got up and grabbed her phone off the dresser. Frowning, she turned to John. "I don't have any missed calls."

******

* * *

Exactly 9 minutes and 54 seconds later, John and Cameron walked downstairs. Savannah was just finishing up her pancakes. "Morning sleepyheads!"

"Morning, Red." John sat at the table and rubbed his eyes. He didn't dare look at his mom as she placed a plate of pancakes in front of him. Cameron sat next to him, setting a glass of juice down in front of him.

"Thanks."

"Did you find anything _interesting_ on your patrol, Cameron?" Sarah asked, as she set a plate with a pancake in front of her.

John closed his eyes. His mother had a mean streak, and this… this was a golden opportunity.

"Yes. I found a litter of kittens living under the back porch."

Sarah wasn't expecting a real answer. She didn't know Cameron had actually patrolled the perimeter last night.

"Kittens!!! Sarah can I go see the kittens?" Savannah was nearly bouncing in her chair.

"Later, after you finish your breakfast." The girl pouted, but started shoveling the rest of her pancakes into her mouth.

"Did you sleep well, John? You look a bit tired."

John just shook his head.

*****

* * *

John washed the dishes at the sink slowly. Out in the back yard, Cameron and Savannah were sitting in the grass, kittens crawling all over their laps. The sight made John smile. The mother, a surprisingly petite tabby, was watching Cameron suspiciously, but it seemed the kittens were too young to sense what Cameron was, and were happily gnawing on her fingers.

Sarah finished wiping up the table, and stood beside John. She watched, too, as Cameron picked up a particularly fuzzy gray kitten. It crawled up to her shoulder and attacked her hair.

"She's really good to Savannah. It's kinda cute." Sarah stated quietly.

John turned to look at his mom, who focused on him, and they regarded each other in silence for several long moments.

Finally, Sarah spoke. "Sometimes I hardly recognize you anymore. You've grown up so much… You're not my little boy anymore."

John didn't know what to say. He just stood there, feeling a bit awkward.

"You can be quite stubborn, and you have a heck of a temper. That… you definitely get from me," Sarah admitted with a smile. "But you're also strong, and very smart. You get that from your father. I see him everyday in you, and I couldn't be more proud of the man you've become."

John looked his mother in the eyes. She wasn't one to do serious, emotional chitchats, and neither was he. He was beyond speechless, and embarrassingly close to tears, as his mother opened up to him. He sincerely hoped nobody walked in anytime soon.

Sarah sighed. "I'm not sure I can agree with it, John. And I don't think I'll ever like it. But there are a lot of things that I don't like or agree with, that I can accept." She looked him straight in the eye. "But I swear to you, the moment she even looks at you wrong, I'll burn her to ashes without a second thought. Do you understand?"

John could only nod. This was more than he could have ever, _ever_ hoped for from his mother. He wasn't about to disagree or argue with a damn thing.

"Good. Now why don't you go save Metal Muffin's hair from the mini cougar before she kills it."

John blushed. _She so did not just call Cameron "Metal Muffin"._ _I think I might puke._

Before his mom could say anything more embarrassing, he escaped out the back sliding door.

Sarah watched as he gently detangled the kitten from Cameron's hair, and sat between her and Savannah. He held the kitten in front of his face and gave it a mean look, which made the girls laugh.

"She's different, you know."

Sarah turned to find Catherine standing behind her.

"Yeah, so I see."

"It's not what you can see, it's what's inside." She moved closer and stood beside Sarah, gazing out the door at the three in the grass. "Did John explain to you about Cameron's chip?"

"No, he never says anything about it, or her really."

"Well, I'm not quite sure if he would even understand it all, and Cameron herself may not even know completely. So, perhaps you should listen closely."

************

* * *

**I hope you all liked it! For explanation purposes, before I get 20 million questions... It was Sarah's decision to put Cameron and John in the same room. It was her way of apologizing, and trying to accept what she knows she can't really do anything about anyway.**


	12. Chapter 12

**This one's a little short again, but it was getting really long, so I thought I'd just break it down and give you something to hang on to until the rest of the part is finished. **

* * *

"So, essentially what you're saying is, if one hormonal, moody, think-they-know-everything teenager wasn't enough, I now have two." Sarah sat at the kitchen table, nursing a cup of coffee. She briefly considered spiking it.

"Well, I wouldn't say hormonal, but essentially, yes."

Catherine had explained everything she knew about Cameron's chip. Where it came from, how it was designed. The fact that she was the only terminator ever created to be automatically set in read-write mode. She was the only terminator programmed to learn, understand, produce, and experience _genuine_ emotions. Along with her chip, she had an advanced "neural" network, completely unique, allowing her to experience tactile sensations in a totally different way than any other terminator. She was truly a one-of-a-kind creation.

She also explained exactly what John Henry did to her chip. He not only erased the "bad" Skynet programming, he tweaked with the limits set on her programming.

The program alteration would forever change Cameron. Not in such large ways that she was no longer herself, but rather, she was even more herself now than ever before. It was like opening a door that was always there, but had been left locked for years. The change was irreversible, and even dangerous. Nobody really knew how her chip would handle it all. When Cameron shut down in the factory, it was only the first of probably several shutdowns she would face before she "learned" how to deal with such an influx of emotional energy. She would have to learn to control herself in a variety of situations if she wanted to be an efficient protector of John.

"Well that's just freaking wonderful." Sarah took another long sip of her coffee.

"What's wonderful?"

Sarah and Catherine both turned to see John Henry entering the kitchen from the basement stairs.

"We were discussing Cameron's chip, and her emotional development."

"Oh it is wonderful, isn't it?" John Henry was addressed Sarah. "I was glad I could help her."

"Did you need something, John Henry?" Catherine asked.

"Yes. I did what you asked me to do."

"And?"

"Mr. Ellison has agreed to come."

"Excellent. Thank you John Henry."

"You're welcome Ms. Weaver." He looked out the window and saw the three in the yard, playing with the kittens. Catherine noticed, and smiled.

"I'm sure Savannah would like to show you the kittens, John Henry. Why don't you go out and join them."

John Henry smiled, and walked outside.

"What about Mr. Ellison?" Sarah asked, not having heard anything from the man since he left Savannah in her care.

"We'll be meeting him tomorrow morning to discuss his continued involvement in our efforts."

Right. Sarah wasn't sure she trusted the man. Of course, she didn't really trust anyone, so that could be why. She watched John Henry sit on the ground next to Savannah. The girl handed him a gray and white kitten, and he held it gently in the palm of his hands.

Sarah looked at John, who was busy brushing cat hair off of Cameron's shirt. _Uh huh. Like she couldn't do that herself._

Sarah sighed. Emotions. She wasn't stupid enough to think that emotions were something only humans felt. Hell, even crazy plant people say flowers have emotions. So why couldn't a highly developed terminator?

Sarah had to admit that it really wasn't much of a shock. Rather, it explained an awful lot of her behavior that Sarah had simply ignored, or put off as a "metal" thing.

It didn't mean it wasn't scary, though. If machines could feel, if they could understand right from wrong, if they could love… it didn't make them much different from humans. Sure, they reproduced in factories and they could essentially live forever… but wouldn't that be better? A master race that never died, and never got disease.

What made humans more human than machines anyway? Was it a soul? Could machines have a soul? What about cats, do they have souls? Spirits? What are souls or spirits anyway? Do they even really exist? Or are they just weird energy forms; a sort of consciousness? Cameron was seemingly self-aware. That gave her consciousness, didn't it? She certainly had energy. Did that give her a soul? Did she even want a soul? Humans _want_ to have souls. Even with no scientific evidence supporting their existence, humans still insist that they have them. If Cameron wanted a soul, and everything that went with it, could we rightfully tell her she didn't have one? Would God refuse her, simply because of her origins? In a godless society, could he be so picky?

***********

* * *

Sarah bent down to pet the watching mother cat. She was being surprisingly patient, probably more or less glad to have a moment to relax alone. Sarah knew the feeling.

"Have you guys named them yet?"

Savannah shook her head. "Can we?"

"Sure, I don't see why not. There're four of them… why don't you each name one."

Savannah was thrilled, and picked up her favorite kitten. It was a black cat with white paws.

"How do you know if it's a boy or a girl?"

Sarah smiled, and knelt down next to her. "Well… you have to ask them."

Sarah took the kitten from the girl, and lifted up its tail, sexing the cat quickly. She grew up with cats. Lots of them. Lifting the cat up to her face, she spoke to it. "Ok kitty, are you a boy, or a girl?" She put the kitten beside her ear and pretended to listen. Surprisingly, the cat meowed, which made everyone laugh. Sarah handed it back to Savannah. "She says she's a girl."

Savannah grinned and immediately started thinking of a name. John had absolutely no idea how to sex a kitten. His mom walked over and took the little striped tabby kitten, the only one that resembled the mother, that was ferociously attacking his shoelaces. Lifting up the tail, she handed to John and mouthed "boy."

"How the hell… " he whispered.

Kneeling in front of him so that she was blocking Savannah's view, she picked up the fluffy grey kitten that was curled up on Cameron's lap. She lucked out with another girl.

Talking quietly, she lifted both of their tails. "Boys have more space between…" she pointed to their behinds. "…to make room for things to grow. If you can't tell, you have to feel. They're under there…"

John wasn't about to feel for male kitten parts, so he accepted his mom's judgment and began thinking of male cat names.

"Sarah this one isn't talking!"

Sarah turned to find Savannah holding the gray and white kitten.

"Let me try," Cameron smiled. Taking the kitten, she quickly lifted up its tail, and spoke to it. "Don't be shy. Are you a boy or a girl?" Lifting the kitten to her ear, there was a soft meow sound that definitely didn't come from the kitten. Smiling, she handed it to John Henry. "You have a girl too."

"Oh geez, little buddy," John spoke to his kitten. "You're the only boy."

"I'm going to name mine Skittles!" Savannah shouted.

"That's a good cat name." John Henry told her.

"What are you going to name yours John Henry?"

"I think I'll name her Athena. She was the goddess of wisdom and war."

Cameron didn't know many female names. She scanned her database for an appropriate name, and stopped at one she knew well.

"Dorothy."

"What?" John looked at her.

"I'm going to name her Dorothy."

Sarah snorted. It was pretty damn ironic. Dorothy and the Tin Miss.

"Well, John, what about the man of the pack there?"

John looked at his mom. "I don't know. Why don't you name it?"

Sarah chewed her lip and considered. "Snickerdoodle."

"WHAT?? Mom you can not name my cat _Snickerdoodle!"_

"Why not? I think it's a cute name."

Savannah laughed. "I like Snickerdoodle. I think it's funny."

John looked at the poor little kitten and sighed. "I'm sorry little dude, you've just been dubbed with the lamest name ever known in male feline history."

***************

* * *

Sarah peeked in to the downstairs office. "I need to get out of here guys, or I'm gonna go crazy. What do you say we go for dinner and a movie?"

John and Cameron looked at each other hesitantly. A date with mom was neither cool, nor smart, when your mom was Sarah Connor.

"Uhh, actually I'm kinda busy here mom. I'm researching a couple computer companies that John Henry found."

Unfazed, Sarah turned to Cameron. "Well, you can come with me."

Cameron looked at John, not really knowing what to do. She didn't want to go, but at the same time, she had no reason not to.

"I'm sure John will be just fine by himself. With two other babysitters in the house, I'm sure he won't be able to find any trouble." Sarah gave her son a meaningful look.

"Go ahead Cam. Keep an eye on her." Cameron nodded and went upstairs to grab her things.

"Um… John?"

John looked at his mother. "Be nice to her this time."

"I will, I promise. I really do just want to get out of the house. Who knows? Maybe this will be a good "bonding" opportunity."

"That sounds dangerous coming from you."

"Oh shut up. Anyway, that's not what I wanted to ask. Listen, while you're on the computers… Well, I was thinking about that day, you know? So much happened, and I really just never thought back on it too much, and…"

"Mom, do you have a point?"

"Danny Dyson."

"What?"

"An agent came to me, told me he knew about everything. Skynet, the machines, the future… well, anyway. He asked me if I knew Danny Dyson. He's been missing for three months."

"And you just remember this now?" John was shocked, and angry. This could either mean good things or bad things, but either way, it was a lead.

"Well, like I was trying to say… I saw my son bubble into the future, never thinking I'd see him again. Then, he bubbled back out of nowhere. We've had to relocate, acquire new "family" members, and have awkward moments with your metal mistress. An afterthought conversation while I was in prison wasn't exactly priority. Excuse me for being human."

John took that last remark as the slap it was meant to be. "I'm sorry. It's just a really big deal, and it's been over a week now… "

"And he's been missing for three months. I doubt another week made much of a difference either way."

Cameron reappeared in the doorway with her jacket and combat boots on. "I'm ready."

Sarah nodded and looked at John. "Get the other one on it too. We'll be back in a few." With that, she left John to his task, with Cameron following behind.

******

* * *

Sarah turned on the radio as they headed into town.

"Sarah, where are we going? The theater is in the other direction."

"I figured since John chose not to join us, we'd take the opportunity to just have some girl time."

"Girl time?"

"Yeah, you know, do girl things."

"What kind of girl things?"

Sarah smiled as she pulled in to the mall parking lot. "Shopping."

*********

* * *

"The blue one looks better."

Sarah rolled her eyes and closed the curtain. What was meant to be a simple evening away from the house for the first time in days, instead turned into an episode of "What Not to Wear", with Cameron dictating what she should and should not try on. Sarah briefly wondered how Skynet programmed her with a fashion sense. _Why I'm taking advice from a machine anyway, I don't know. Especially from she-who-wears-combat-boots-with-skirts. _

Cameron had insisted, actually. Sarah had lost a lot of weight, and her clothes were starting to look a bit big on her. She also thought Sarah needed a little more color in her wardrobe.

"How about pink?"

Sarah nearly growled. "I will dismember you bolt by bolt."

"That's not a very original threat, and John would be upset."

"He'd be too busy putting you back together to notice."

She opened the curtain again and stood awkwardly.

Cameron made a face. "Yellow is not your color either."

*********

* * *

Walking past several "tween" boutiques, Cameron stopped at a Piercing Pagoda kiosk. There was a young girl sitting in a chair holding a teddy bear. She was obviously afraid, as tears were running down her cheeks as a young woman marked her ear with a pen.

"What are they doing to the child?"

Sarah, who was eyeing the nearest shoe store, followed her gaze. "She's getting her ears pierced."

Cameron watched the process curiously. It looked painful. She didn't understand why the mother would want to torture her child like that.

"That's cruel. Why would a mother deliberately cause her child pain?"

"It only hurts for a moment, Cameron. Look, she's already done crying."

Cameron looked doubtful.

"You should try it."

Cameron turned away from staring at the child. "What?"

"Get your ears pierced." Sarah grinned.

"Why? It serves no purpose."

"Oh, sure it does." Sarah smiled mischievously and dragged Cameron over to the counter. "They look pretty, and boys like when girls wear them."

Sarah could clearly see her words being processed carefully, as slight facial expressions flickered across Cameron's face. _Am I really trying to help her get on with my son?_ As if they needed any help. But Sarah had to admit, if only to herself, that she did sort of like Cameron. She always did, in her own way. Whether it was the teenager appearance, or the naivety she'd often show, Sarah had always deep-down felt ever so slightly maternal towards her. They had even bonded a bit over their mutual dislike of Riley. Of course, when Sarah had noticed the jealousy, the long stares, and spying… she hadn't been too sure which girl she was rooting for. But when John really started treating Cameron bad, Sarah found herself almost defending the cyborg, although she wasn't sure if it was truly in defense of Cameron, or if it was simply because she was sick of her son being an asshole to everyone.

"Can I help you ladies?"

"Uh, yes," Sarah responded with a smile. "She'd like to get her ears pierced."

The woman looked at Cameron and smiled. "Well honey if you come right over here, you can pick out your earrings, and if you want, your mom can start filling out your forms for you."

Cameron looked at Sarah, who nodded.

Cameron looked over the jewelry selection, and chose a small, square shaped cubic zirconia set. After signing the forms, she sat in the seat and waited.

The woman marked her ears, and had her check the placement. With a nod from Sarah, the woman prepared the piercing gun. Cameron, of course, never even flinched.

*******

* * *

Cameron sat across from Sarah in the food court, sipping a strawberry banana smoothie. Sarah still didn't have a clue where she put it all.

Sarah herself was eating sushi. John hated it, so she didn't get a chance to enjoy it often.

"What do you think we'll find on Danny Dyson?"

Sarah stopped, a California roll halfway to her mouth. _Superhuman hearing. How could I forget?_ "I'm not sure. We may not even find anything. But, the kid is missing, and we need to find him. Whether he just ran away from home, or was kidnapped, we should find out."

Cameron agreed. She even thought there might be a chance that he neither ran, nor was kidnapped, but she'd reserve judgment until they could learn more. The suspicion still lingered, though.

She looked around the food court, watching people mill around. Several people attempted to juggle too many bags with a food tray. There was an infant crying in a stroller, and several children running between tables. A man dressed in a business suit walked through the food court, scanning the crowd as if looking for someone.

Wait. There was something… odd about the man. Cameron put her cup down and scanned him. When her instincts proved correct, she stood up and grabbed their bags.

Sarah immediately knew something was wrong, and didn't need Cameron to tell her "we need to go" for her to get up and follow her quickly to the glass doors of the food court entrance.

Once outside, Cameron pushed Sarah against the wall and peered through the doors. They hadn't been spotted.

"Is it a triple eight?"

Cameron nodded, and pulled out her cell phone while Sarah ran to get the car.


	13. Chapter 13

**I very much apologize in advance for any possible grammar/spelling errors I may have missed. My beta reader hasn't had time to read over this yet, and I just read over this again, but as it's about 4 am here, I'm sure as heck not going to catch anything with one eye open! Don't hesitate to point anything out** **that I could fix. Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoy to keep coming back for more.  
**

* * *

John sat on the back porch drinking a Coke. He had Dorothy and Snickers (he refused to call the poor creature Snickerdoodle) on his lap, purring away. He hadn't found anything on Danny Dyson, not that he really expected to. The computer company leads were also rather vague. He had John Henry still researching both though, since he could do it faster and without getting tired.

He turned to watch Savannah sneak out the sliding glass door. Her hair was damp from her bath, and she was wearing her pajamas. "Whatcha doin?" she asked.

"Just listening to the crickets I suppose. What are you up to? Isn't it past your bedtime?"

"Mommy's on the phone."

At that moment, Catherine walked out to the back porch. "John, I must go. Cameron called. They spotted a T triple 8 at the mall."

John quickly stood up. "What? Are they okay?"

"They're fine. They can't engage it there of course, so we'll have to monitor and follow it."

"Well what are we waiting for? We need to go now!"

"No, not we. You must stay here."

"What? Oh no, I don't think so. I don't know what my mother has said to you but I am not going to be left behind while…" John was almost shouting. He was slowly walking closer to Catherine with each word before she interrupted.

"You must stay to protect Savannah. While John Henry tried last time, he ultimately failed. We all know what would have happened if you hadn't shown up. I'm trusting her security with you."

John chewed on this for a moment, then walked into the kitchen, waiting for her to follow before shutting the door so Savannah couldn't hear. "Who is she in the future?"

"I don't understand."

"Why is she so important? Not that I don't think she's important. I mean in the future. You kept her alive, when you could just have easily killed her off with her parents. Why is she still here? What's her role in all of this?"

"It's more convincing for me to keep my role as Catherine Weaver if I take care of her daughter as my own."

"You're no longer Catherine Weaver."

"That is true. But she also serves a greater purpose. She teaches John Henry a lot about the value of human life."

"So you're saying she's only necessary for John Henry's sake."

"I did not say 'only'."

"Let's stop playing games here. She had a terminator come after her. Whether or not it was going to kidnap or kill her, they knew damn well you're a machine. They hacked John Henry, did they not? So why bother. You wouldn't give a damn if the girl died or went missing. It would have been no leverage on you."

"To say I wouldn't give a damn is a rather large assumption, John. But… you are correct, they would not get anything from me either way, so therefore, there was no point in the action."

John slammed his fist on the table. "So tell me! Why the hell is she so important?"

Catherine was getting quite upset herself. "I don't know, John! You know as much as I do. I can only assume that introducing her to you has intertwined her life somehow with yours in the future, giving Skynet one reason or another to hunt her."

"The future is that fickle? It can be changed so drastically by one person?"

Catherine looked at him as if he was a total idiot. "Of course, John. You saw that first hand when you accompanied me to 2027. The future is what we make, and as a result, it has never repeated itself the same way twice."

John was silent as he thought about that. _The future was never the same. It always changed._ He supposed that made sense in a way, with all the people and machines sent back in time. He briefly wondered how many futures went by in which humanity lost the battle.

"Your mother and cyborg are waiting. Please send Savannah to bed on time."

Catherine left John in the kitchen. Opening the door, she called for Savannah.

"I have to leave. You're to listen to John and behave."

Savannah nodded, and her "mom" kissed her on the forehead.

*************

* * *

"And I'm not going to leave here ever, ever again, because I love you all! And -- Oh, Auntie Em -- there's no place like home!"

John closed the book and looked at Savannah. "Alright. It's definitely time for you to get to sleep."

"Aw one more!"

"Oh no, I don't think so," John said, as he set _The Wizard of Oz_ on the nightstand. "It's bed time for little redheads."

"Where's mommy?"

"Um, your mom had to go do something important. She'll be back later," he said as he pulled the light blanket over her.

"Where's Sarah and Cameron?"

"Cameron went with my mom to the store. They should be home soon." He hoped.

"Is Cameron your sister?"

John put the book away on a small shelf. "No, she's not my sister. She's just a friend."

"Oh. Where did you meet her?"

"Well…" John sat back down in the chair, and propped his foot up on the lower bunk. "I met her on my first day at a new school. She was the first person to say 'hi' to me. She was very nice."

"She is nice," Savannah agreed. "Is she your girlfriend?"

"Uh, well…" John had honestly never thought about it that way. It just was what it was. "Yeah, I guess she is."

Savannah grinned, and began to sing. "John and Cameron sitting in a tree…"

"Savannah…" John warned.

"K-I-S-S-I-N-G."

"Alright, that's it!" John attacked her, tickling her mercilessly.

"Nooo! Stop! John!!!" Savannah was laughing hysterically, squirming under his grip, trying to get away.

John relented, and smiled. "That's what you get. Now, bed time. No more delaying here."

John made it to the door and reached for the light. "Goodnight Savannah."

He heard a light mumble in reply, and shut off the light, closing the door quietly.

****  


* * *

Sarah pulled up with the car and jumped out. She tossed their bags in the trunk and turned to Cameron.

"What is it here for?"

"I don't know, but we need to find out."

Sarah rolled her eyes. "And how do you plan to do that? Walk up and ask?"

"No, that would be ineffective and dangerous," Cameron deadpanned. "I called Catherine. We're going to follow it."

"Of course we are."

Cameron watched as the terminator turned and began walking further into the mall.

"I have to go follow him. You should find somewhere to park on this side and wait for Catherine."

Sarah nodded, and got back in the car.

She only had to wait 15 minutes. Catherine spotted her car and parked next to her. Sarah switched vehicles, climbing into the passenger seat of Catherine's SUV.

Catherine was on the phone with Cameron. "Where? Five minutes."

Hanging up, she put the vehicle into reverse, and headed to the other side of the mall.

******

* * *

The triple eight had given up on the mall, and returned to his stolen vehicle. They followed him for nearly an hour before he pulled up to a small house.

Parking down the street in the shadows of some taller trees, they sat for another 3 ½ hours, watching the house. There didn't seem to be any activity inside. No lights ever turned on.

"We should enter and engage now while it's dark, and no one is around." Cameron said.

"Yes. There doesn't seem to be any activity in the neighboring houses either." Catherine agreed, and opened her door. Sarah moved to follow, but Cameron stopped her.

"You have to stay here. We can't use guns."

Sarah sighed, but acknowledged that she was right. Guns were loud, and not very conducive to covert missions at 2 am in residential neighborhoods. Instead, Sarah moved to the drivers seat, just in case.

Cameron and Catherine snuck around the back of the house. They couldn't risk being seen entering the front, regardless of the lack of activity in the neighborhood. As luck would have it, the owners had a cat door. Having no fear of what could be waiting on the other side, Catherine morphed into liquid and squeezed through the tiny door. It only took a few moments for her to make it inside and quietly open the back door for Cameron.

They found themselves in the empty living room. Splitting up, Cameron checked out the upstairs, while Catherine quickly headed to the basement.

Cameron opened the first door on the left, and never saw what hit her. She was thrown across the hall, and slammed through the thin wall.

The T-888 stepped out of the room and quickly scanned her.

_TERMINATOR MODEL TOK 715 _

_SECONDARY TARGET ACQUIRED: CAMERON CONNOR_

_DIRECTIVE: TERMINATE_

The triple eight grabbed Cameron by her left arm, and threw her into another wall. Cameron managed to get her feet under her fast enough to attack back. She kicked him in the chest and watched as he stumbled back and fell as he ran into a bed.

Cameron quickly ran over to the other terminator and kicked it in the head. The T888 was struggling, but managed to grab her leg and pull. Cameron fell to the floor.

The larger machine had the upper hand as it rolled on top of her, effectively pinning her to the ground.

From his back pocket he pulled a switchblade. Quickly slicing open her scalp, he exposed Cameron's port. Flipping it open, he tossed the blade aside.

Cameron's HUD was flashing red. She knew there was nothing more she could do. She was struggling underneath the triple eight, but it was no use. In a matter of seconds, she'd be terminated. She thought about John, and how devastated he'd be, as a tear slid down her cheek. She wouldn't be able to apologize this time; wouldn't be able to tell him she loved him.

"Cameron Connor, you have been terminated."

She heard him say it, but nothing happened. Cameron was aware of movement behind him, but wasn't able to turn her head. She felt his weight lift off her body, and heard a crash across the room.

Finally able to move, Cameron sat up to see Catherine effectively pinning the T-888 to the wall, her right arm morphed into a blade that had made its way through its body. Knowing the T1001 would make short work of the triple eight, Cameron began looking for her port cap.

When she found it, she replaced it quickly. She did an analysis of her injuries, and watched the stats display on her HUD.

_ANALYZING…_

_DAMAGE FOUND: LEFT ARM_

_COMBAT CHASSIS OPERATING 98%_

_ANALYZING CPU…_

_CPU OPERATING AT 100%_

Cameron tested her left arm. It wasn't completely broken. The force of the throw disconnected her shoulder joint. She was unsure if any parts were seriously damaged inside. She'd have to wait until they got home to open it up.

Catherine held the triple eight chip in her hand. Turning, she saw Cameron slowly getting to her feet.

"He knew you."

Cameron nodded, but didn't add anything. "The chip is not destroyed?"

"No. It appears the future has once again changed, and Skynet has not started creating self destructing chips," she said, gazing at the chip. "John Henry will be able to analyze the information. Hopefully we'll get a primary mission." She looked at Cameron. "It would not make sense if it was you. He would not have known you were at the mall. No, there was someone else he was looking for."

Cameron had to agree. Taking the chip from Catherine, she called Sarah.

*****

* * *

John woke to the sound of muffled voices coming from downstairs. Glancing at the clock, he saw it was almost 4 am. _What the hell._

Dressed in a tshirt and boxers, he didn't even bother getting dressed as he headed downstairs after stopping at the bathroom.

When he entered the kitchen, everyone went silent. John looked from one woman to the other. He was relieved to see that Sarah apparently didn't even have a scratch. Cameron, though, looked like she'd been hit by a train.

Watching his face change from annoyance, to relief, and finally settling on fear, Cameron spoke before John could panic. "I'm alright John."

"You sure as hell don't look alright." He walked over to her and touched her hair, where he could obviously see someone had butchered her scalp over her port. "What the hell happened?"

"I was apparently a target the T-888 recognized. He attempted to terminate me."

"He was after you? How did he find you at the mall?"

"No, John. It's unlikely I was the primary target."

"The chip was not destroyed," Catherine interrupted. "John Henry should be able to retrieve more information."

"John…" Sarah came out of the downstairs bathroom and handed her son the first aid kit. "You need to do something about Tin Miss before Savannah wakes up."

John was tired, and highly confused. He just took the first aid kit and followed Cameron to their room.

*********

* * *

"Alright, how's that?"

Cameron moved her left arm in a circular motion. "It's perfect. It's functioning at 100% now."

"Good." John had spent the last hour fixing Cameron's shoulder. It wasn't too difficult, as nothing major was actually disconnected, but it took a long time, as it was a delicate procedure. Not to mention the amount of skin he had to cut. He looked at it now, and sighed. It would take forever to sew back up.

"It would be easier to staple it, John," Cameron said, as if she had read his mind.

John gave her a look. "I'm not stapling you back together goober."

"Many surgeons staple incisions."

"Well we don't exactly have surgical staples lying around, and I doubt Swingline staples will do much good." John shook his head. Sometimes, she was just too much.

John threaded the needle and began to stitch. Luckily he didn't have to be too perfect with it, as she wouldn't scar either way.

Cameron watched as John concentrated on his stitching.

"I'm sorry, John."

John stopped and looked up from his task. "What? What are you sorry about?"

"I almost died. If it wasn't for Catherine, I would have."

John laid his hand against her cheek. "'Almost' doesn't count. If I dwelled on every time I 'almost' died, I'd never move on with my life. You're here, you're all right, you're pretty much all in one piece. Our lives are dangerous, this probably won't be the last time either of us comes close to dying."

Cameron nodded, and John noticed something sparkle between her hair.

He pushed her hair behind her ear, and was a little shocked. "You got your ears pierced?"

"Yes. Do you like them?"

John smiled. "Of course, I love them. They look beautiful on you. What made you do it?"

Cameron returned his smile. "Sarah."

John's jaw dropped. "My _mother_?"

"Yes. She said 'boys like when girls where them'" She had done an almost creepy imitation of his mother.

John just stared at her, wondering if his mother had a recent head injury. Shaking his head, he went back to his stitching.

When John finished with her arm, he moved to her head. It didn't take him long to finish stitching her scalp. He picked up the supplies and went into the bathroom to wash them off in the sink.

Cameron entered behind him and began undressing.

_Not again. I can't take this!_ "Cam… what are you doing?"

"I need to shower. I have bits of wall in my hair."

"Shouldn't you wait until I'm done?"

Cameron tilted her head. "Does my being naked bother you?"

"No, I mean, yes. I mean… that's the problem. It bothers me in a very inappropriate way."

Cameron stared blankly at him through the mirror. John's back was turned to her, as he was doing his best to pretend he didn't have a half naked gorgeous girl standing behind him.

Quietly, she unbuckled her pants and dropped them to the floor. "Then don't look."

John could feel his pulse speed up and closed his eyes. _Oh, my God, she's evil. I was wrong. She's trying to kill me. _ He heard the shower turn on, and the curtain slide closed. He opened his eyes and quickly finished cleaning. Gathering everything up, he opened the door and ran into his mother who was just coming up the stairs.

Sarah stopped and stared at her son who was holding the dripping first aid supplies. She heard the shower running and glanced behind him. Raising an eyebrow, she looked back at John in question. John, for once, didn't even blush. He just shook his head and closed the bathroom door behind him.

Sarah just sighed and continued on to her room. It had been too long of a day to think about anything… especially that.

*******

* * *

John was already half asleep where he had collapsed on to the bed. The sun was already starting to come up, and he flipped it off through the window. He heard Cameron come in, but didn't bother moving.

Cameron slipped into the pajamas she wore the day before, and walked over to the bed. She crawled into bed behind John, and laid on her side watching him.

John decided it was worth the effort to turn his body around to look at her. Her hair was still damp form the shower, and it actually formed a few ringlets. He took one of them in his hand, and wrapped it around his finger. "How's the shoulder?"

"It's fine. It's working perfectly, and the stitches are holding."

John nodded. He realized he was going to have to get up, though. "We need to cover the wound."

"It's not necessary. I can't get an infection."

John shook his head. "It's gruesome looking. Not something anyone really needs to be looking at… especially an 8 year old in the morning."

Cameron realized he was right. She got back out of bed and retrieved the gauze and tape from the first aid kit John left on the dresser. She brought it back over to the bed, and John sat up.

"You're going to have to take off your shirt."

Even though he said it, his brain wasn't exactly thinking very far ahead. He wasn't really aware of what taking off her shirt would mean, until he was staring at her bare chest.

Trying not to stare at her naked breasts, he did his best to keep his eyes focused on the wound, deciding which would be the best way to wrap it up. It was essentially an "I" shaped incision, but a shoulder wasn't exactly easy to dress.

"Wrap it around my arm. When you get to the top, you can tape it up here," Cameron suggested, pointing to her shoulder.

John nodded and began to wrap. He was quickly regretting having her take off her shirt, as he now realized it wasn't exactly as necessary as he thought, and his hand kept bumping her left breast. He swallowed hard, and kept wrapping.

Cameron was well aware of the effect she was having on him, she didn't even need to look down to notice. His breathing was heavy, and he was grinding his teeth. It was the same way he had reacted when she had him check her nuclear power source.

Thinking back, Cameron wasn't quite sure why she did that. She was watching him sleep, and there was really no reason for it. Then, as she undressed, she did it with purpose to gauge his reaction. It was also not necessary to take off her bra, but she did.

Cameron had purposely tried to seduce him before… but that time, there was no reason. There was no Riley, no other woman to save him from. She had just wanted to do it. She knew what she was doing, and knew it was dangerous. Before it was too late though, she stopped him. She knew John was about to kiss her, but she also knew she wasn't sure if she'd make it till the end of the day. It wouldn't have been fair to John. But she wanted him to know. She wanted him to know that she was there. She wanted him to want her. She didn't know why; she just did.

John finished taping the bandage and sighed in relief. "Ok, check that."

Cameron moved her arm around and decided it was satisfactory. "It'll do."

John tossed the gauze and tape onto the floor, and laid back down on the bed. Cameron put her shirt back on and laid next to John, resting her head on his shoulder. She gave him a chaste kiss on the cheek, and laid her head back down.

"I wanted to tell you… when the triple eight almost took my chip… I was upset that I'd never get to tell you that I loved you again."

John pulled her closer and sighed. Kissing the top of her head above the sutures, he smiled. "I love you too."

*****

* * *

It was after 9, and the house was oddly quiet. Savannah had been watching TV in the living room for over an hour, and had not seen anyone. She was getting hungry, but the cereal was too high for her to reach. She wasn't allowed to climb on the chairs. She'd gotten a spanking for that once at the old house when her daddy caught her standing on the counter trying to get Poptarts. Her mom had always made sure they were low enough for her to reach after that. They must have been out of them now.

She went back upstairs and quietly opened her mother's bedroom door. The bed was made, and nobody was in there. She wasn't quite sure what to do.

She thought about going down to the basement to ask John Henry, but her mom had told her she shouldn't go down there by herself. John Henry always came upstairs to play.

She was left with 2 other choices, Sarah or John. She wasn't sure why, but she felt Sarah was the safer choice.

She quietly knocked and opened Sarah's bedroom door. The bed wasn't made yet, but she didn't find Sarah either.

Savannah started to panic. Did everyone leave and forget her? She ran to the other side and knocked on John's door. Opening it up, she was relieved to find both John and Cameron still sleeping.

Cameron sat up as John opened his eyes.

"Savannah, what's wrong?" John asked.

"I can't find anyone."

"What do you mean?"

"I can't find mommy or Sarah. They left me."

John sighed and sat up. "I'm sure they didn't leave you. They probably just went to the store or something. I'm sure they'll be back soon. Did you need help?"

Savannah nodded. "I can't reach the cereal."

John glanced at the clock. Yeah, she's probably starving. She was usually an early riser like his mom. "Ok, let's go downstairs then. I think we got some Lucky Charms this time."

********

* * *

The three sat on the couch eating dry Lucky Charms out of a large bowl, watching _Finding Nemo_. John would have just settled for eating out of the box, but if his mom saw him she'd probably crack him across the head for being such a bad influence on Savannah.

"Stop eating all the marshmallows, John."

John stopped, a rainbow halfway to his mouth. "What's wrong with marshmallows?"

"They're not healthy. The brown pieces are better for you."

He looked at Cameron and threw shamrock at her. "You eat the boring pieces."

Cameron rolled her eyes and turned, detecting Sarah entering from the garage. She was carrying the bags they bought at the mall the day before, and Cameron realized they must have went back to pick up the car they left in the parking lot.

Sarah saw the three of them and smiled, until she saw Savannah sitting between Cameron and John, holding a massive bowl of cereal. She set the bags on the floor and walked over to the couch.

Without any warning, she biffed her son across the head. "What are you doing?"

Innocently, John looked up at his mom. "Eating breakfast."

"You couldn't eat it like a normal human being?"

"What? We're drinking milk!" He pointed to the glasses on the coffee table.

Sarah sighed, and grabbed a handful of the cereal.

"Hypocrite."

"Don't make me hit you again."

*******

* * *

"I've been able to retrieve a lot of information from the chip, including a list of names and targets. I think you'll be surprised at some of the names."

Catherine was in the basement with John Henry. She watched the large screen as he put up the list of targets on the left, and random names he found on the right.

His primary target and mission was Danny Dyson. She didn't know what Danny Dyson had to do with either the resistance or Skynet, but it still told her a lot. If the terminator was at the mall searching for him, then it must have suspected he was nearby. She filed that information away and continued on to the rest of the list.

"There's a Cameron Connor, and a Savannah Connor, but no John Connor," John Henry noted. "He's usually a primary target."

"Not unless he's already dead."

"I'm afraid I don't understand."

"Those secondary target names are from the future. They're simply left there from a previous mission. If they were meant for this time period, they'd be Cameron Phillips and Savannah Weaver."

John Henry now understood. "So John Connor is no longer a target because at the time the triple eight bubbled back in time, he was dead."

"Yes, I assume so."

John Henry stood beside Catherine, gazing at the names.

"It also partially explains why a T triple eight was sent after Savannah."

"Yes it does, John Henry." Catherine turned to look at him. "I'm not sure we should leave those names on the list when we show it to them."

"You may be right. I'll prepare a ghost image and remove them, until they're ready to know."

Catherine nodded, and looked back at the list. She didn't recognize any of the other names, but she wasn't part of the resistance. Cameron would probably recognize more of them.

"Excellent job John Henry. When you're finished with the list, would you join us upstairs? Savannah has asked about you."

John Henry smiled. "Yes, I would. There is a new game I would like to play, too."


	14. Chapter 14

Catherine sent Cameron to the basement. She wasn't told why, but it was clear that she was supposed to go by herself. Cameron assumed it had to do with the triple eight chip, and they probably found something that would be sensitive to Sarah and John.

She reached the basement and was greeted by John Henry. "Have you found something?"

"Yes, I have. If you don't mind, we need your input on some things." He pulled up the original list on the screen. "The left side is a list of targets, and the right side is a list of names I haven't been able to identify."

Cameron looked at the list, and was once again faced with an unexpected twist. Cameron Connor. She heard the T-888 call her that, but she didn't have much time to analyze it too much. Now, she was face to face with it, and it could really only mean two things. Either she was posing as John's sister under his birth name in the future, or she was his wife. Cameron tilted her head.

"Is Kate Brewster or Connor on the list?"

"No, there's no one by either name on the chip." John Henry replied.

Well. Cameron also noticed Savannah was on the list, sharing the same last name. There was really only one answer to that, as the only believable cover would be adoption; there was absolutely no resemblance between the two to pretend sibling relation.

Her logic was undeniable, and gave her the answer to the puzzle. But something made her feel a little odd about the information. She'd have to figure out what sort of emotion it was.

Focusing her attention on the rest of the list, she saw Danny Dyson was the primary target.

"What would Skynet want with Danny Dyson?"

"We're not sure. But we agree that if the T-888 was looking in the mall for him, then it's safe to assume it had leads that Danny Dyson is in the local area."

"That's logical."

"Yes. Unfortunately, we're not sure exactly where to start looking for him. It doesn't look like the T-888 really knew either."

Cameron thought about it for a moment. Something just wasn't adding up. She turned to John Henry. "I'll need all memory video playback from the time it arrived in this time period to the present. We need to find out if it had seen him."

"That's an excellent idea. It'll take some time, though. It seems he's been here for quite a while."

Cameron shrugged. "I don't sleep. And John will insist on helping."

John Henry nodded. "The list, though… we don't recognize the other names, of course. We were hoping you would be able to."

Cameron recognized the other targets as high-ranking officers in the resistance. The other list was a different story.

"The uncategorized list of seemingly random names is a list of well-known humans working with Skynet. We call them Greys in the future."

John Henry looked surprised. "Could these people be helping Skynet now?"

"It's possible. None of them are particularly young, even now."

John Henry sat down at his desk, and picked up one of the action figures he had painted in the basement of Zeira corp.

"I believe my brother was created by Skynet. The sophistication is far beyond any human design. It had been looking for me, and when I was hacked, it tried to make me destroy myself. I believe that obviously implies my brother is a rival."

"A rival… who has a reason a reason to destroy you." They turned to watch as Catherine descended the steps. "So the question is, what would give it a reason to kill you?"

"Skynet," Cameron said. "In the future. Just as it sent terminators to try to kill John, Sarah, me, you…" she indicated Catherine, "…and Savannah. In the future, John Henry must be a serious rival to Skynet, so they decided to send something back to try and destroy him."

"Exactly," Catherine agreed. "But it realized the only thing that could truly destroy him was another AI."

"Well why the hell didn't Skynet just send itself back?"

They all turned to see John coming down the stairs. John Henry quickly erased the screen with the list of names before John could notice them.

"It doesn't work that way. Skynet… is huge. It's not really an individual machine."

"So basically, instead of sending itself, it sends this… smaller AI. This "brother" thing. But you really couldn't send that by itself either, though, could you?"

Cameron wondered how long John had been listening. "No, you couldn't send it back. It had to be built here."

"Alright then. That explains why it's not a monster AI… why it's not Skynet itself… yet. So, the question is: who built it? I vote Kaliba, anyone else?" John had raised his hand in mock vote. Amusingly, John Henry did the same.

"It's the most logical possibility," John Henry explained.

Suddenly, John Henry froze, and a surveillance camera began feeding on to the large screen.

"Ah, Mr. Ellison has kept his appointment. Let us finish this meeting later." With that, Catherine returned upstairs to answer the door.

John Henry addressed John. "Cameron has asked to view the T 888's video memory footage of his time here in the past. She'd like to find out if it had ever come across Danny Dyson, as he was its primary target. I think this is an excellent idea."

_Danny Dyson was the primary target. Well, this keeps getting better and better. _"Right. That's a great idea. Let us know when it's ready." Without another word, John returned upstairs.

*******

* * *

John lay on his bed with his headphones in his ears. There was just way too much to think about. Kaliba, Skynet, Danny Dyson… and how much more had he not heard? It was giving him a headache. He didn't hear the knock on his door.

Sarah sat on the bed next to her son who jumped, a bit startled.

"Sorry. Didn't mean to… "

"It's alright. What's up?"

"I just want to talk. We haven't had a chance to do that lately."

_Oh, boy._ "Yeah, jumping through time, fighting homicidal robots, and preventing the end of the world can get kind of busy."

Sarah smirked. "Well at least you're still a smartass."

"I think I've gotten better at it too."

Sarah laughed, and lightly punched her son in the arm. Sobering though, she asked him a question. "Are you doing okay?"

John considered the answer with due seriousness. "Yeah, I am. Honest. It just gets to be a lot, you know? I now know what we're heading for. Before, I only had my imagination and stories. But now…" John paused to take his headphones off. "Well, somehow you just don't grasp a situation unless you've been there. And sometimes, that situation's a lot worse than you could have ever thought possible."

John studied his mom's face. There was a look of gentle sadness there. Almost… pity. Her face was thinner than it was just a couple months ago, and he could see a few strands of gray hair lining her face. It made him think again about what Cameron had told him. Was there really nothing they could do?

"Maybe you should get out of the house."

John shook his head as his thought train derailed and flipped. "What?"

"Get out of the house, have some fun." She paused, briefly considering. "Go take Cameron on a date or something."

The train exploded. "You… are telling me… to take a terminator… on a date?"

Sarah gave him a look. "What is she, John, a terminator or your girlfriend? You better get that straight before you even think about anything else."

Thoroughly chastised, John felt like an ass. The double meaning of the question wasn't lost on him. He didn't really think about Cameron as a terminator, but his mom still did. She always would. John, however, couldn't afford to think that way. He'd always know what she was, but couldn't treat her as such.

"Besides," Sarah continued. "Compared to what I know you two have been up to, dinner and a movie seem like rather safe and innocent activities for a couple of teenagers, don't you?"

John tried to control the blush, but he felt his face heat up regardless of his efforts.

"That's what I thought. So go find her, get a damn shower, and get the hell out of here. This house is too full, it's starting to drive me crazy."

***********

* * *

John was in the shower trying to come up with ways to ask Cameron out on a date. "_Would you like to go out with me?" Yeah, LAME. "I'm hungry, why don't we go get something to eat?" Yeah, exactly why is dinner a good idea with someone who doesn't technically eat? "I'm bored, let's go see a movie." Yeah, that's romantic. Why don't we wash and wax the car while we're at it. _

John still hadn't a clue what he'd say when he got out of the shower. He wrapped a towel around his waste and walked to his room. He pushed the door shut without paying attention, and walked over to his dresser. Dropping his towel, he opened the top drawer and pulled out a pair of clean underwear.

"Your mom bought you new underwear."

John jumped out of his skin and turned around. He hadn't seen Cameron sitting on the bed with his laptop. He watched, turning all shades of red as her eyes scan him head to toe… and back up. Slowly.

"You've gained your weight back. You're now at a healthier physique." She managed to keep a straight face, and looked back at the screen. Without looking, she pointed towards his desk. "They're in the bag over there."

_Uh… huh. Two can play that game._ John swallowed his pride, and sucked up his manliness. She'd seen it all before, anyway. Feigning confidence, he walked over to his desk naked. Reaching into the bag, he pulled out a pair of boxers, and blinked.

He turned around, momentarily forgetting completely about his nudity. "Seriously? Seriously… _SPONGE BOB?_"

Cameron shrugged. "I picked them out. Sarah wanted to get you Kermit the Frog."

John looked at the boxers and admitted he was glad Cameron won. Slipping them on he glanced up to see Cameron had a tiny grin on her face. It was barely there, but oh… it was there. _I still owe her…_ _yeah. It's payback time._

John meandered over to the bed. Without warning, he grabbed the laptop off Cameron's lap and tossed it on the other side of the bed. Climbing on top of her, he grabbed her face and kissed her passionately.

Cameron was frozen. She had purposely stalled her movements when John surprised her, so as not to react to fast or dangerously. Now though, she had simply forgot to turn them back on. Her processor was completely focused on the variety of sensations. Her body was heating up too quickly, her skin beginning to sweat. John's lips were on hers, his tongue battling her own. When she finally found control of her arms again to pull him closer, he pulled away.

John almost didn't make it. He was way too tempted to just keep going. But, it wasn't the time, nor the plan. When he felt her arms tighten around him, he knew it was his last chance. He pulled away, breathing heavily.

Looking into her eyes, he noticed they were faintly glowing blue. Smiling, he gave her one last quick kiss before saying, "It's time to go."

Cameron's face was blank. Go where? She wasn't aware they had to go anywhere. She was irrationally angry at whatever it is they had to go do. Her body processes were on overload, and she was not happy about pausing them. Wait…

She recognized that line. That line was _her_ line. He did this on purpose.

"That was not very nice of you John Connor."

"Neither was it of you, Cameron Phillips."

Cameron looked away. "You knew?"

John had to think a moment before he shrugged, and climbed off of her. "No, not really. I knew something was up, obviously. I suspected it was kind of unnecessary and on purpose.. But, that's not what I was talking about, though. That was payback for that damn picture you sent my mother."

Cameron remembered. "She told me to."

"Pffft. You had that thing sent before she said a word."

"How do you know?"

John gave her a look. "Because when you're up to something, you look like a little kid sneaking around with cookies in her pocket trying not to get busted."

Cameron wasn't quite sure what he meant by that, but she smiled.

"Anyway…" John started. Here goes nothing. "I was wondering if you'd like to get out of the house for a while with me. I haven't been out in a long time. I think I'm starting to drive mom crazy."

"Yes, Sarah does seem a little more agitated than usual. Where do you want to go?"

"I don't know," John shrugged. "Maybe we can catch a matinee movie at the theater or something."

Cameron processed this, and a tiny smile formed on her lips. "Are you asking me out on a date, John?"

John sighed. Why did she have to be such a straight forward, logic driven, pain in the ass? "Yeah, I guess I am. So how 'bout it?"

Cameron sat up and kissed him on the cheek. "I would love to." She crawled off the bed and walked to the closet. Instead of coming out with her own clothes though, she brought out one of John's new shirts.

"You should wear this."

John looked at the shirt, a dark grey polo. "Okay, whatever you say."

He took the shirt from her, and she turned back to the closet. "Wear it with the new jeans in the third drawer."

John paused, one arm in the shirt. "Ooookay Stacey London."

Cameron came out of the closet wearing a pair of light denim jeans and a pink fitted top. She was surprisingly not wearing combat boots, but rather a pair of new white and silver sneakers. They must've been Sarah's idea.

John looked her up and down, tying his own pair of shoes. "You look great, Cam… but you should probably do something to hide your shoulder."

"Oh." Cameron looked at the bandage, as if she'd totally forgot it was there. Digging back through the closet, she came back out with a white, cropped jacket.

"I see you and mom were quite productive at the mall."

"Yes." Cameron replied, without elaborating. _Typical._

John followed Cameron downstairs. They found his mom outside on the porch, watching Savannah play with the kittens.

"My, my… don't we just look spiffy. Did Cameron pick your outfit?"

John rolled his eyes. "Shut up. We're going out. See you later."

Sarah stopped him before he could turn around. "Woah, not so fast. Where are you going?"

John sighed. "We're going to the movie theater."

"When will you be back?"

"I don't know."

"Are you going anywhere else?"

"I don't know."

"Do I need to put a tracker on you?"

"Mom."

Sarah looked at Cameron, and gave her a stern look. "You don't let him out of your sight. Don't let him talk you into doing anything stupid. You're to have him back here by 10:00." Her phone buzzed in her pocket. Pulling it out, she flipped it open and grinned.

"Awww… you look adorable in SpongeBob."

John turned to glare at Cameron, wondering when and how she took a picture of him in his damn underwear.

"Payback's a bitch," she said with her typical straight face, and walked back into the kitchen.

"This means war, I hope you know!" John shouted, as he followed behind her.

********

* * *

John and Cameron were the first ones in the theater, as they were a good 20 minutes early. They sat in the very last row, center screen. It was the safest place to sit, as no one could sneak up on them. At least, that's what John claimed.

Cameron scanned every person as they entered the theater. She didn't detect any threats, but there was no reason to take chances.

John propped his feet up on the chair in front of him and watched the previews. Another movie about some nerdy wizard kid, saving the magical world from evil. John never understood why they insisted on using magic wands, when they could easily use an AK47 and solve all the magical world's problems.

Cameron sat back and observed the people in the theater as the main feature began. She noticed a couple to the left snuggling close. She wondered if it was what people on dates were supposed to do. She looked around at other couples. One couple a few rows in front of them had lifted the armrest between them. A couple in a side row were holding hands and whispering.

Cameron looked at John, who was slouching in his seat. His feet were propped on the chair, and his hands were folded in his lap. Maybe he didn't want to be close to her?

She felt a little… dejected? She wanted John to want to be close to her. She wanted to be closer to him. She liked when he touched her, and it seemed he liked when she touched him as well. But if that was what John wanted, he wouldn't be sitting next to her, acting almost as if she wasn't even there. Turning back to the screen, she crossed her arms and legs in a posture she'd seen other girls do, and focused on the movie.

John wasn't stupid; he noticed Cameron looked upset. Unfortunately, he was at a total loss of what to do. It's not like he'd ever gone on a real date before. Even with Riley, they had really just "hung out". Going to the movies with a girl was something completely new. Especially when that girl was Cameron. It was hard to get used to the fact that they didn't have to pretend to be siblings, and they were able to act just like any other couple in public.

John looked around, not entirely interested in the cheesy horror movie they were watching. He noticed a young couple in front of them sneaking kisses every once in while. Glancing at Cameron, it didn't seem she wanted anything to do with him. John sighed. Why couldn't Skynet have left the whole part about women being difficult and complicated out of their design? He had to do something.

He stood up, whispering to Cameron he had to use the restroom, and assured her she could let him out of her sight to do that much. _Mom could put the fear of God in anyone_, he thought.

Once outside, he headed for the concession stand. For a machine who didn't have to eat, Cameron had a sweet tooth. He once thought about asking what her body did with it all, but decided it was probably something he didn't need to know. He ordered a cherry Icee, and grabbed a straw.

Heading back into the theater, he let his eyes adjust to the darkness before attempting the stairs. When he reached the top, he climbed over a few disgruntled patrons before finding his seat beside Cameron.

She looked at the drink in his hand, and whispered, "You said you were going to the restroom."

John shrugged. "I found out they don't sell cherry slushies in there." He handed her the drink, which she accepted.

She should have been mad at him for lying to her, but for some reason she couldn't be. He lied so he could surprise her with an Icee, for no apparent reason. That made up for it, right? It wasn't like he had gotten hurt. She looked down, as John rested his hand on her thigh. Maybe he wanted to be closer after all.

*************

* * *

They ended up going to the mall after the movie, Cameron stating the probability that they'd run into another terminator was next to nothing. She promised not to tell Sarah though, regardless.

They ended up in a video arcade, teaming up on Ghost Squad. Cameron was thoroughly kicking his ass, but he wasn't doing too bad himself. They had already played three rounds, taking different possible routes each time. It wasn't the most awesome game, but it was addicting.

Cameron was laughing at him "Stop shooting the civilians!"

"I can't help it," John complained. "They're in the way."

When they both died again they decided to try a different game, before the small crowd that had begun watching them got any bigger. They walked around looking for another duo game. They stopped at a blue machine and watched the demo. The object was to shoot and destroy killer robots.

"You know," John began, "if only people knew…"

*****************

* * *

John took Cameron's hand as they exited the mall. "So what would you like to do now?" Admittedly, the area they moved to wasn't really exciting. Being further in state, they weren't near the beach, nor were they in a particularly overpopulated area.

"You have not eaten since this morning," Cameron pointed out.

John's stomach growled as if to prove her point. "Yeah, you're right. There's a Denny's on the other end of the parking lot. Let's just head over there."

It had begun to rain halfway to the restaurant, and John regretted not just driving over. By the time they entered, they were both thoroughly wet and dripping. The air conditioning hit them like a sheet of ice, and John shivered involuntarily.

The hostess smiled at them. "Table for two?"

John nodded, and they followed the young woman to the back of the restaurant. She stopped at a booth and placed two sets of silverware on the table and a couple of menus. "Your waitress will be right with you."

John smiled and guided Cameron to the other side of the table. She preferred to be able to watch the doors. Before she could sit down, though, a voice stopped them.

"About time you two showed up."

* * *

**Thanks for reading! I already have chapter 15 finished... if you're nice, I'll think about adding it tonight as well ;-)**


	15. Chapter 15

**This is for talli b. since I read her work religiously. She asked, I happened to be paying attention, so here it is a little earlier than planned, but that's ok :-)**

* * *

John froze, recognizing the voice. Cameron apparently did too, as she immediately walked to the next table, where Derek Reese sat, hidden behind the table divider.

"Well don't just stand there, sit down before people start staring," he said gruffly.

Cameron noticed John was still frozen in place, not quite sure what to do. She reached for his hand and gently tugged him towards the other table.

John sat next to Cameron and stared at his uncle.

It was Derek all right. He was a little older than he remembered, though, and his face had a fresh scar across his cheek.

"What are you doing here?" John finally asked.

Derek shrugged. "Helping you, I guess. Helping save humanity. Fight Skynet."

"Are you ready to order?"

John looked up at the waitress who had appeared. He hadn't even looked at the menu. "Um, yeah just get me a Grand Slam and an orange juice."

"How would you like your eggs?"

"Scrambled."

She looked at Cameron. "And you, miss?"

"I'll have the same."

The waitress nodded and looked at Derek. "I'll have the cheeseburger with bacon, and an order of cheese fries."

The waitress nodded and bustled off.

"Who sent you?" Cameron asked.

Derek fiddled with his spoon. "You did."

"She did?" John was surprised.

Derek nodded, and sat up straighter. "Yes, it was her last orders to me, before she… left us."

John felt his stomach drop. "Did I send her back?"

Derek sighed. "No… no that you did years ago. Well, my time that is. Skynet captured Allison on a raid, with 15 other soldiers. They made infiltrators out of all of them. She was good. They made her real convincing. Not as Allison, but as Cameron. Even you were fooled. I still don't know how you figured it out. She had you going for a whole, oh, five minutes. Then we all flipped out when you blew her head off. We thought you'd gone mad. But then, Cameron came around the corner, and we realized…" Derek cleared his throat.

John oddly felt relieved. Having to send Cameron back wasn't something that had actually ever crossed his mind until now. When it did, he suddenly felt panicked, realizing he'd have to send her back to his younger self someday. At least, it wouldn't have to be _his_ Cameron he'd have to send back.

John felt Cameron rest her hand on his thigh, as he'd done to hers in the theater. Reaching under the table, he covered her hand with his and held it.

Derek continued. "You had died, John. The whole resistance was in mourning. Your wife kept us together. She led us forward till the day she died. We followed her as we followed you, and we won. Your daughter was left in charge when I left. People were beginning to rebuild."

John was quiet. It wasn't really easy to hear that he had died. Although everyone dies eventually, it wasn't a comfortable feeling. It was also a little disconcerting to hear details about his personal future. He had a wife, and a daughter? "So what does this have to do with Cameron sending you back?"

"Everything."

John was thoroughly confused. The waitress brought their plates, and gave him and Cameron silverware before retreating to the kitchen again.

Cameron was debating asking Derek to stop. There was a whole level to his story she wasn't sure John was ready to hear. Even more so, he'd find out that she knew, and kept it a secret. Asking Derek to stop, though, was going to be a little too obvious. She was just going to have to deal with everything as it came.

"So, anyway…" Derek said, his mouth full of fries. He swallowed. "She was depressed. She was doing her best, but regardless, you were gone. It was like her whole reason for being just disappeared. She did what she had to do, though. She took charge, and led us to ultimate victory, but not without a price. We were down to one last factory. She'd come to me, a piece of paper in her hand. She told me to come back; the exact time, place, etcetera. She said you needed my help, and I was the only one she trusted to send back. I didn't really mind. I didn't have anyone to stay for. My brother… had disappeared. My girlfriend died in childbirth years before. I didn't have any reason not to go. Besides, she had asked. When a Connor asked you to do something, you did it, and you were damn well honored to do it to."

John, no longer confused, pushed his eggs around his plate. He didn't just have a wife… Cameron was his wife. He stopped. How the hell did he have a daughter? He looked at Cameron, who avoided his gaze.

"You knew?"

"I found out this morning."

"How? And why didn't you tell me?"

John had let go of her hand, so she pulled it back to her own lap. "John Henry found a target list on the triple eight's chip. There was a primary target, Danny Dyson, as well as secondary targets left over from his previous missions in the future. The top two targets were Cameron Connor and Savannah Connor.

John let his fork drop to his plate with a loud clank. That explained the offspring at least. "And you didn't tell me this because…?"

"What was I supposed to say, John? How was I to know that was even our real future anyway? The future changes so much. There was no need to tell you."

John stood up without a word and left the table.

It was 20 minutes before John returned. He didn't say a word, just picked up his fork and started eating. When he did speak, it was to Derek.

"I called my mom. She's expecting you to come with us."

Derek nodded. It wasn't like he had anywhere else to go.

Cameron got a box for her food; someone could eat it later. They paid the bill, and left.

************

* * *

It was an awkward drive home. John drove, as Cameron sat in the passenger seat. Derek insisted on sitting in the back, but was regretting the decision. He could feel the tension in the front seat, and was beginning to think he probably should have separated them.

When they got home, they found Sarah washing the dishes in the kitchen. She turned around, and immediately knew something had happened. Her son was brooding, and Cameron looked like she was about to cry. There was another matter to deal with, though.

"Derek, this is my mom, Sarah."

"Pleasure to meet you, ma'am." He shook her hand politely.

"You too, Derek.

Another awkward moment. Nobody was really quite sure what to say.

"I'll move my things out of John's room. He can share with Derek." Cameron then turned and headed up the stairs.

Sarah glared at John. "What the hell did you do to her?"

"What did _I_ do to her? You have no idea what you're talking about."

"I don't care. Whatever it is, get your ass up there and fix it, cause I'm not sharing a room with moody Tin Miss. She's your problem." Sarah pointed up the stairs.

John turned furiously, and ran up the steps.

Derek just stood, watching the drama unfold. "Some things never change."

Sarah looked at Derek. "What are you talking about?"

"There are days when soldiers avoid the entire corridor their quarters are located on. Today… today is going to be one of those days."

Sarah didn't really know what Derek was talking about, but it didn't matter, as Catherine came up from the basement.

"Hello Mr. Reese."

"Derek, this is Catherine Weaver. Well, Taylor now." Sarah introduced him.

Catherine? Derek shook her hand, and it was cold, proving his suspicion. He knew who this was, although, he'd never seen her appear this way. "You're General Connor's T1001," he stated confidently.

Catherine tilted her head, as she never actually met Derek Reese in her future. The one this Derek came from must be drastically different. "Yes. But please keep that information quiet." She nodded to the couch in the living room, where a small redheaded girl had fallen asleep watching a movie. He knew who that was as well.

Looking back at the T1001, he realized what was going on. "She thinks you're her mother?"

"Yes."

Derek scratched his head. "Well that's just a little convoluted."

"Welcome to the family," Sarah said.

**********

* * *

John walked into his room, and saw Cameron pulling her clothes out of the dresser.

"You don't have to do that. Derek can sleep downstairs."

"I don't sleep, it doesn't matter where my clothes are."

John sat on the bed and held his head in his hands. "Cameron…"

"What, John?"

He sighed, and stood up. Pacing, he finally asked, "How could you not tell me something like that? I thought we were past telling lies!"

"What would I have said, John?"

"I don't freaking know! You're an advanced learning machine! You couldn't have come up with something? Like, I don't know, the TRUTH?"

Cameron slammed the last drawer shut so hard John heard the dresser crack. Cameron turned around.

"I did come up with something! I decided it was in your best interest not to tell you at this time!"

"WHY? WHAT MADE YOU THINK YOU COULDN'T TELL ME? I'M NOT A CHILD ANYMORE! WHY CAN'T PEOPLE GET THAT THROUGH THEIR HEADS?" John was screaming now, his frustration clear.

"BECAUSE I KNOW YOU WELL ENOUGH, JOHN. I KNEW IT WAS BEST" Cameron raised her voice as well. She wasn't sure why. She knew logically it would just add fuel to the fire, but for some reason, she couldn't help it. It was the first time she had ever raised her voice in anger.

"OBVIOUSLY YOU DON'T KNOW ME WELL ENOUGH!

"FINE! WHAT DO YOU WANT ME TO SAY? "

"I DON'T KNOW!" John realized that sounded idiotic.

***

"What exactly are they fighting about?" Sarah asked.

"I'm assuming Mr. Connor found out Cameron was going to be Mrs. Connor in the future?" Catherine asked Derek.

"Basically."

"What?!"

****

Cameron stalked out of the room, carrying a handful of clothes. "Cameron, bring those back. You're not really going to share with my mother, are you?"

"I'd rather share with her, than you."

"UGH!!! Cameron this is ridiculous!"

"What's ridiculous, John? No, you're right, it is all ridiculous. It's ridiculous to think that the future leader of mankind would want to marry his girlfriend. She's just a piece of metal, afterall. I don't know why we're even arguing about it."

"What?? That is NOT what I'm mad about! HOW COULD YOU EVEN SUGGEST THAT THAT'S WHAT I'M MAD ABOUT? AFTER EVERYTHING, YOU REALLY THINK I LOOK AT YOU AS JUST A PIECE OF METAL?"

"WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO THINK, JOHN?"

****

Derek was sitting on the couch, eating the bowl of popcorn that was sitting on the coffee table. Savannah woke up to the shouting, and was sitting in her "mother's" lap, trying to watch the TV. Sarah stood, staring at the ceiling.

"Sarah, relax," Derek said. "It'll all end up happily ever after. This is a mild one… I'm guessing it'll only be about another 10 minutes."

Sarah looked at Derek, still very uncomfortable looking at a man she had recently seen die just a couple weeks ago. "They fight a lot in the future?"

Derek rolled his eyes. "Nah, not really. I think sometimes they just do it for the make-up sex."

Sarah felt nauseous.

****

John was leaning over the railing, his hands behind his neck. "I've told you I love you! I risked the entire human race to find you in the future! Every damn day I wake up and wonder how the hell I got so damn LUCKY! What are you supposed to THINK? HOW DARE YOU ASK THAT QUESTION!"

"THE MOMENT YOU FIND OUT WE'RE SUPPOSED TO BE MARRIED IN THE FUTURE, YOU LEAVE ME IN A RESTAURANT! "

"UGH AGAIN WITH THE MARRIAGE EXCUSE! I LEFT BEAUSE I WAS UPSET YOU HAD LIED TO ME!"

"WE ALL THOUGHT IT WAS THE RIGHT THING TO DO JOHN!"

"ALL? ALL??? YOU MEAN EVERYONE ELSE KNEW TOO?"

Cameron knew she'd let it go too far. She should have just shut up and walked away when she had the chance. "Just Catherine and John Henry."

"OH, SO THE TERMINATOR TRIO KNEW THE SECRET. I GET IT."

John never saw the slap coming.

Cameron stared at her hand, as she couldn't believe what she had done. She hadn't really hurt John, having instinctively pulling back the amount of force she used, but it didn't matter. She shouldn't have slapped him. She looked at John, who was staring at her in shock.

"I'm sorry, John," she said, before she ran down the steps and out the front door.

******

* * *

John sat on the front porch, alone. It was 2 am, and Cameron still hadn't come back. After the initial shock of what had happened, he ran downstairs to chase her, but she was already gone. He had looked for over an hour, but he couldn't find her. Giving up, he had gone back in the house to find everyone staring at him. Savannah had gone to bed, leaving Catherine in the chair again. His mother was sitting on the couch, a little shell-shocked. The two had cornered Derek, forcing him to tell them everything. He'd told them a hell of a lot more than he got to tell John and Cameron, and even Catherine was a little surprised at what he had to say.

John had just looked at his mom with a lost expression. Sarah stood up and took him into a hug.

"I'm not going to say you didn't deserve that," she whispered. "But she'll be back." She headed back upstairs, and John came back out on the porch to wait.

"Still not back yet?" Derek's voice came from behind him.

"No," John said, as he turned to watch Derek take the chair on the other side of the porch.

"She will be. Just like always."

John raised an eyebrow. "You say that like this happens a lot."

Derek shrugged. "I don't know if I'd say a lot, but it's often enough… and loud enough… for people to notice."

John felt a little embarrassed. "Am I really that much of a dick?"

Derek grinned. "Yeah, sometimes. But we all are on occasion. She has a short temper too, with a bitch streak a mile wide, that everyone takes caution to avoid." Derek took a sip of his coke. "Except you. She could be harping like a banshee at some poor bastard who had the unfortunate luck to screw up on a bad day, and you'd walk in and calm the beast like you had some special fairy dust or something." Derek sighed, and looked at the stars. He saw them for the first time in years just 2 days ago. He'd never get tired of looking at them.

"You two never argued in public though. You always waited to get back to your quarters, then everyone would avoid the whole area. Sometimes, it'd be over in 5 minutes like it'd never happened. Other times, one of you would walk out, and you'd give each other the silent treatment for days. Those were dark days…" Derek chuckled at his memories. "Nobody walked within 10 feet of the Connors on those days. Even the machines kept their distance."

They sat in silence for a while, listening to the crickets in the grass.

"You're not even really married, you know."

John looked at his uncle. "We're not?"

Derek shook his head. "I mean, to everyone you are. But, it's not like it was really official. You told a few of us what happened one night while we were just sitting around drinking and letting go of shit." He crushed the empty can in his hand. "You were left with Savannah. She was still really young. You knew who you were destined to become, and thought if she had your last name, if people thought she was your daughter, then she'd be taken care of. Sure, it'd put a target on her head, but she already had one anyway. You just took up the façade that Cameron was your wife, and you adopted this redheaded niece. Nobody questioned you, and nobody questioned your 'wife'. When Savannah grew up, nobody questioned her either. The daughter of John Connor, she was born and raised to lead humanity, right?" Derek shrugged. "It was probably the best decision you ever made, especially for Cameron. People eventually found out what she was, but by then, they had looked at her as your second in command… as your wife… for so long, most of them didn't really care. Some did, but honestly, they were dealt with. Not by you, but by those loyal to you and her. People fought for you, and they died for you. It didn't much matter who you slept with, so long as you led them in the right direction."

Derek stood up and stretched, yawning loudly. "Give her time to cool off. Chances are, she'll be back before your cheek finishes bruising." Derek grinned and went back in to the house.

John thought about how different this Derek was. He'd only known him for a few hours, but it was already obvious. In particular, his attitude toward Cameron. It actually seemed like he respected her, and didn't care that she was a machine. It was like a complete 360 compared to what the old Derek had told him about the future.

John also wondered why Cameron would have sent him back. He didn't think there was anything going on that was particularly dangerous in which they needed him. At least, not anything the three terminators they already had couldn't handle. That thought actually worried him. Was there something that future Cameron knew?

********

* * *

John woke to the sun shining on his face. It took him several moments to realize where he was. He opened his eyes to the front porch. His body was stiff, and his neck ached. He sat there rubbing his neck for a few minutes, trying to wake up. He noticed someone had covered him with a blanket at some point, and figured it was something his mom would do. John finally stood up and carried the blanket into the house.

He smelled pancakes cooking, and headed for the kitchen. His mom was at the stove of course, and Savannah and Derek were at the kitchen table, already starting on their breakfast.

"Morning," Sarah said, turning to look at her son. He looked like hell, but she wasn't about to tell him that.

"Morning," John grumbled back. "Thanks for the blanket." He folded it up and laid it on the back of the couch in the living room.

Sarah gave him a confused look. "I didn't do it. I didn't even know you slept outside until just now."

John looked at Derek, who had an "I-told-you-so" smirk on his face. "Maybe the blanket fairy gave it to you."

The blanket fairy. John looked around as if she'd appear out of nowhere, but he didn't see any sign of his "fairy".

"Sit down and eat, John," his mother instructed.

He hadn't realized how hungry he was, so he didn't argue. He sat next to Derek and pulled a couple pancakes onto his plate.

"You look like hell."

Sarah smirked, and John gave his uncle a look. "Thanks, Derek."

"No problem."

John was halfway through his second pancake when the sliding glass doors in the kitchen opened behind him. Cameron walked in, clad in her favorite dark gray cargo pants and a white tank top, holding her fluffy kitten.

"The kittens are weaning, we'll have to get them food soon."

Sarah nodded and looked at the cat. "We need to go grocery shopping anyway. We'll pick up some Kitten Chow while we're out."

Cameron nodded, and ruffled Savannah's hair. "Skittles is looking for you." Savannah smiled, and followed Cameron back outside.

John stared at his half eaten pancake. Cameron hadn't even glanced at him, as if he wasn't even there. He looked at Derek, who was finishing his glass of orange juice. He let out a belch, and looked at John. "Dark days indeed…"

*****

* * *

John cleared the table and joined the girls outside. He bent down to pet the mother cat, which Sarah had dubbed Queen Elizabeth (why the hell did she pick the dumbest names?). She was basking in the warm sunlight on her back. "How you doin, Lizzy?" The cat purred, and stretched under his hand.

"Savannah," Sarah called from the door, "go brush your teeth and comb your hair. We have to go to the grocery store in a bit."

_Very subtle, mom._ Savannah put her kitten down and walked past Sarah, heading for the stairs. His mom gave him a meaningful look, and shut the door behind her.

John looked at Cameron, who had put her own kitten down in the grass. "I need to check the perimeter," she said lamely.

"No, you don't."

Cameron just stood there, refusing to meet John's eyes.

"I'm sorry, Cameron."

Cameron finally looked at John. "There is nothing for you to be sorry for."

John shook his head. "Yes, there is. I said a lot of things I shouldn't have. I didn't mean them, I was just upset. I overreacted. Instead of being glad you cared enough about me to want to protect me, my ego got in the way and I reacted badly."

Cameron looked back down at her feet. "I shouldn't have slapped you. It was a very dangerous thing for me to do. I shouldn't hurt you. I promised never to hurt you."

"Yeah, well…" John shrugged. "I kinda deserved it. Even my mom said so. I was out of line, and shouldn't have said what I did. Any girl would have done the same thing."

Cameron shook her head. "I'm dangerous, John. I can't control my emotions. I could have really hurt you."

John walked over to her and cupped her face in his hands. "The fact of the matter is you didn't hurt me. You had the ability to damn near knock my head off my shoulders, but whether you consciously held back or not, my head is still there, for better or worse. You couldn't hurt me, Cameron. You need to trust yourself." He brushed her hair away from her face. "Besides, nobody can control their emotions. It's a human thing. I'm almost 18 years old and I quite obviously can't control mine. You're not supposed to. That's the whole point of having emotions. You'll learn to handle them better in time, but they're new to you. Give yourself a break, okay?"

Cameron nodded, and John kissed her softly on the lips before pulling her into a hug. "No matter what happens, remember I love you, okay? Don't ever doubt that."

He took her hand and pulled her towards the house. "Come on, I have an idea."

"What kind of idea?" Cameron asked, as she wiped the moisture from her cheeks.

"You like ice cream, don't you?"

**********


	16. Chapter 16

"Hey mom, we're probably going to head out to the park for a while. Why don't we take Savannah with us? I'm sure it'll be more fun than shopping for pancake mix."

Sarah considered the request. Her initial reaction was to immediately say no, but there wasn't a real good reason to. She'd be just as safe, if not safer, with John and Cameron. Savannah, who had been standing by the door, looked hopeful. "Alright. But don't let her out of your sight."

"Of course not."

Savannah smiled wide, and ran over to her buddy Cameron.

Sarah grabbed her keys and headed for the door.

"Hey, Reese!"

Derek instantly woke from his nap and leapt off the couch.

"Let's go. You're coming with me. We need to get you decent clothes."

"Yes, ma'am" Derek nodded, and grabbed his stolen shoes.

Sarah turned back to her son before opening the door. "Please take a shower before you go out in public."

Derek stood, nearly bouncing in eagerness. Following Sarah out the door, John stopped him.

"Derek!" John grabbed the gun from the back of Cameron's pants and tossed it to his uncle. "Keep an eye on her."

Derek nodded, accepting his orders. He was a man on a mission now.

***********

* * *

Savannah sat in the grass under the shade of a tree, eating her chocolate ice cream cone with rainbow sprinkles. John and Cameron sat beside her, sharing a banana split.

"How's your ice cream, Savannah?"

The girl grinned, chocolate covering her cheeks. "Good!"

John smiled. "Mom's gonna kill me when she sees your clothes."

She was absolutely filthy, and now she had chocolate dripping onto her yellow shirt. They had come to the park and let Savannah run around the playground. She had a blast, playing with other kids for the first time in ages. She even convinced Cameron to try the swings. John snapped a picture of her trying to figure out how to propel herself, before he gave in and pushed them both. He was keeping that one for later.

John held out another spoonful of ice cream for Cameron. He'd been feeding her bites on and off, thoroughly aware of how pukingly cute it was, and simply not caring.

Savannah reached her sticky hand into her pocket and pulled out the small cell phone her mom had given her when they moved. Sarah showed her how to use it, and instructed her to take lots of funny pictures of John and Cameron. Savannah didn't know why they were sharing their germs, when Cameron could have used her own spoon, but it was funny watching John feed her like a baby.

John's own cell phone rang. Pulling it out, he saw it was his mother's number. He dialed his secret code on the pin pad, and waited for a response. Instead, he heard his uncle's voice. "I'm going to kill you. How dare you let me go all alone with your mother without WARNING me? You're dead meat Con… " John heard his mother in the background "Derek what the hell… how did you get my phone? Give that to me damn it." He heard what sounded like a slap on the other line, and it went dead.

John stared at his phone thoughtfully. "We need to stop and buy a six pack of beer on the way home."

Cameron made a weird face. "Why?"

"Because it sounds like Derek is going to need it."

*********

* * *

John decided a whole case would be better, considering he could only imagine the torture Sarah was putting him through. He put them in the fridge, and grabbed a can of coke. Cameron was out somewhere checking the perimeter, and Savannah was in the back yard running around with kittens chasing her, wearing off a sugar high.

He turned around when he heard voices coming up the basement steps. The door opened to reveal Catherine and James Ellison.

"Hello, John."

"Hello Mr. Ellison."

"You look well."

"So do you."

"Thank you. Is your mother around?"

"No, she's out grocery shopping."

The former FBI agent nodded, and looked at Catherine. "I'll see you in a couple day's Ms. W… Taylor." He looked rather uncomfortable in her presence, and really didn't wait for a response. He showed himself out the door.

"So I take it he's agreed to continue working?" John asked Catherine.

"Yes. He made a very good decision."

John knew what a decision otherwise would have ended in.

"You've been very good with Savannah. I'd like to thank you. She's become quite attached to you, and especially your Cameron. I think that's a good thing. I haven't been the best mother to her, obviously. She needs someone to look up to."

John shrugged, a little uncomfortable. "She's a cute kid. Kinda stuck in a situation that's not really fair to her, I can relate." John looked at Catherine. "You're doing fine. She still prefers you to tuck her in at night. You must be doing something right."

"Perhaps. Regardless, I need to go a way for a few days."

"Where are you going?"

"Not far, but we need to find Danny Dyson."

Duh. "How do you plan to do that?"

Catherine almost looked offended. "Your cyborg isn't the only one built for infiltration."

John had to give her that one. "Where are you planning on 'infiltrating'?"

"Wherever young homeless men running from someone would be living."

"Ah," John nodded. "Bridges, dark alleys, all things dirty and dark?"

"Exactly."

"Good call. Have fun with that."

Catherine gave him a withering look and walked out to the back yard.

"Savannah, come here please."

She sat on the chair and helped Savannah climb up onto her lap. "I have to go away for a couple of days."

Savannah pouted. "Where are you going?"

"I have some business to take care of. I won't be far away. You're going to stay here with everyone else. I want you to behave, and listen to Sarah, John, and Cameron." She idly played with the child's hair, trying to put it in some semblance of order.

"Okay." Savannah gave her mother a hug, and Catherine hugged her back.

"Go on, now. I have to get going." Savannah climbed off her lap and watched her mother disappear into the house.

********

* * *

The front door opened and Derek walked in carrying an armful of grocery bags. He dropped them on the counter, and glared at John, who was cleaning a couple guns at the table. "You owe me… you owe me SO bad…"

John stood up and opened the fridge without a word, and pointed to the beer on the bottom shelf.

Derek's expression changed instantly. "You're a good man, Connor."

"Reese, there are still more bags in the trunk." Sarah walked in, carrying several bags from the shopping mall.

"I'll help," John said quickly.

"Oh, no you don't. The Tin Miss can help," she said, looking at Cameron who'd just walked through the door. She looked back to her son. "Start putting these groceries away before they get warm."

John groaned. He HATED puting groceries away.

"I'll put them away," Cameron said, and she started unpacking several cans from a bag.

John sighed in relief. He gave Cameron a quick peck on the cheek with a hurried "thanks" before heading for the door.

"WHOA… whoa… whoa… " John stopped to look at his mom, who was standing with her hand up in a 'stop' gesture, and her eyes closed. "Rule number one… none of that in front of me. I have enough nightmares to keep me awake. Got it?"

John blushed, as he hadn't really thought about what he did. "Yeah, sorry." He quickly turned and ran out of the house.

Sarah shook her head and began helping Cameron unload the groceries. "So, where did you guys go today?"

"We went to the park!" Savannah had come in and made a beeline for the fridge. She pulled out a juice box and set to work opening the straw.

Sarah looked at the girl's filthy clothes. There were grass stains on her jeans, and what looked like ice cream on the front of her shirt. It was the first time she ever looked like a real kid. While she cringed at the thought of stain removal on the inside, she smiled on the outside. "Did you have fun?"

"Yes. John pushed me and Cameron on the swings, and we ate ice cream!"

"Oh, did you?"

John and Derek walked in with another load of groceries. "That's all of them."

"Good, you can start unpacking them then."

John sighed. He should have brought one bag in at a time.

"Derek, John's closet still has a lot of space. You can go ahead and put your things in there for now."

Derek nodded; glad he didn't have to be on grocery duty anymore.

John emptied a bag of produce. "So what are we having for dinner?"

Sarah shrugged. "I don't know, what are you making?"

Derek laughed as he walked through the kitchen. "John Connor can't cook to save his life."

John turned and flipped his uncle off. "I can to cook!" He heard Cameron chuckle behind him.

Sarah had actually frozen in shock, hearing the sound. She'd heard it before, but she always assumed it was forced to fit in.

"It's true. You used to burn everything before it even cooked on the inside. You once got your entire scout camp sick."

"Hey I remember that!" Derek shouted from the steps. "You were banned from the cook pit after that. Cameron had to take over before we started losing soldiers to salmonella." He laughed the rest of the way up the stairs.

John looked at Cameron. "Well that's interesting. You guys share similar events, in different futures."

"Some things never change. I'm assuming your cooking skills are one of them."

He threw an apple at her, which she gracefully caught. "Then I guess you're on dinner duty."

"Fine," she said, tossing the apple back. "You're on T triple eight chip duty."

"After all this is put away first," Sarah added.

******

* * *

John sat at the desk in his room. John Henry had wired the video feed from the T888's chip to his laptop upstairs. There wasn't much to see so far, and it seemed it had been there for quite some time. John fervently hoped watching it all wasn't a total waste of time. He rubbed his eyes and yawned. He could have just let Cameron do it all, but he wanted to do _something_ to make himself feel useful.

He heard Cameron come up the steps, and knock on the open door.

"Dinner is ready."

John stood up and stretched. "Great. I'm starving."

Cameron glanced at the computer screen. "You should not watch so much at once. The longer you watch, the more tired you become, and you run the chance of missing something important."

John shrugged. "I'll be fine. Not much else to do."

John followed Cameron down the steps. Was she purposely walking that sexy?

Cameron reached the bottom of the steps and tossed her hair over her shoulder. Glancing at John, she gave him a wink and a smile, before putting a straight face back on and heading into the kitchen.

John tripped down the last two steps. Yeah… she was absolutely doing it on purpose.

*******

* * *

They ate in the dining room for the very first time, since the kitchen table wasn't big enough to fit everyone.

Cameron had made spaghetti and meatballs, complete with garlic toast. Sarah was actually quite impressed. She hadn't just used plain sauce from the jar; she actually spiced it up really nice.

Derek looked like he was in heaven. Torn between shoveling his food and savoring it, he was nearly moaning in pleasure with every bite.

"I'd go easy there if I were you," Sarah advised. "Your stomach's not used to eating this kind of stuff."

"I don't care," Derek said between bites. "I'll survive."

John was having a hard time concentrating on his food. His thoughts were on Cameron, who had purposely sat next to him, a little closer than necessary. It was obvious what she was doing, and John wasn't sure what had suddenly, well, turned her on.

He set his fork down and finished his glass of Kool-Aid. He hadn't had the stuff since he was a kid. Evidently Savannah was influencing their grocery list.

Cameron stood up, brushing against John as she walked by. He did his best not to react, but wasn't sure how well of a job he did. He scooped up some sauce with his garlic bread and took a bite.

Cameron returned with the pitcher of Kool-Aid. He almost choked when, instead of picking up his glass, she leaned over him and refilled it. He kept his eyes on his glass; not daring to glance to his right, knowing full well he'd only see inappropriate things. She was killing him.

He forced a smile when she stood up. "Thanks, Cam." He blushed when his voice cracked a little.

Cameron smiled back and returned to the kitchen. John heard a low chuckle come from his uncle beside him, which he stopped with a swift kick under the table. He snuck a peek at his mother, who seemed oddly fascinated by the texture of her bread. _She's going to kill me if Cameron doesn't kill me first._

************

* * *

It was late, as John headed upstairs to his room. He was a little buzzed, as he sat downstairs for quite some time with his mom and uncle, listening to stories of the future, and laughing at stuff his mother divulged of his childhood. His uncle and mom were full out drunk. He lost count how many they had, but he left them in the living room, laughing and slurring. He'd never seen his mother drunk before, mostly because being inebriated would be dangerous if they were suddenly attacked. He supposed she felt at least a little safe, considering the current terminator security around the house.

Taking a detour, he stopped in the bathroom first. He brushed his teeth and washed his face, and headed to his room. He paused at Savannah's room, quietly shutting her door the rest of the way. They usually kept it open some, just in case… but the lushes downstairs were getting rather loud.

He found Cameron in his own room, and paused in the doorway. She was lounging on the bed again, with the laptop on her lap, watching more of the T888's memories.

That wasn't really what made him stop. What did it was the fact she was just in her underwear and white tank top.

Cameron looked up at him over the screen. "He's been here a long time. There's a lot to look at."

A lot to look at, indeed. John walked in the closet and kicked his jeans off. SpongeBob... He shook his head, and tossed his shirt on the dirty pile. He was getting lazy with that, and was going to have to take it downstairs tomorrow. Sarah had long ago yelled at Cameron for doing it for him.

Shutting off the closet light, he walked over to the bed and sat beside Cameron. He looked at the screen, but it didn't really look too important. "Have you found anything yet?"

"Yes. He was aware of Catherine Weaver, at least, from the perspective that she owned Zeira Corp. He saw her on the news a while back."

"Is he aware that she's a T1001?"

"I don't know."

John sighed and stretched out on the bed. Looking at Cameron, he realized it was the closest he'd ever been to her while she was that scantily dressed. It reminded him of dinner. "What was all that about earlier?"

"What was all what?" Cameron asked innocently, still focused on the computer screen.

"You know exactly what."

"I'm afraid I don't, John. Please explain." She finally looked at him, her straight "I'm a scary robot face" perfectly in place.

"Oh, yeah? What was that wink when we went downstairs?"

"I've winked at you before."

John sat up. "Ok, what about you leaning over me to refill my glass at dinner?"

"You were out of Kool-Aid."

John pointed to her attire, or rather, lack thereof. "And this?"

Cameron raised an eyebrow, and pointed back at John, who was once again clad in just his boxers. "Like that?"

John narrowed his eyes at her. "It's hot."

"Exactly."

John stared her down. She was good.

Unexpectedly, Cameron leaned in and kissed him. It was the first time since their very first kiss that she'd initiated it. John was pleasantly surprised.

Slowly pulling back, she finally answered him. "You just seemed like you needed a little help getting started."

"What? Where the hell did that come from?" John blinked, thoroughly confused.

"Cosmopolitan."

John snorted. "You read _Cosmo_?"

"Yes. There are very informative articles."

John did his best to keep a straight face. "Oh? What kind of articles?"

"'How to Tell When He Wants You Bad', "Thirty Sure-fire Ways to Turn Him On", and "Top 10 Sex Tricks That Drive Him Wild."**

John wasn't quite sure how to react to that. "I take it you learned a lot from these, um, articles?"

Cameron smiled mischievously.

********

* * *

"Hey, where did John go?" Sarah looked around the living room, wondering if her son was hiding.

"Probably upstairs getting laid." Derek was in 'the zone', things were feeling rather good… until something hit him in the head.

"Hey what the hell was that for?" He whined, rubbing the back of his head.

"Stop talking like that."

"What? It's the truth! Geez… ya didn't haff to hit me so damn hard."

"I don' care if it's the truff… I don' wanna know"

"What's your problem?"

"What do you mean 'what's my problem'? She's a freaking machine!"

"And?"

Sarah really couldn't answer, so she took another long sip of her beer.

"You know what, I think you're predge… presh… prejudished."

Sarah glared at him. "What are you talking about?"

"I've seen people fu…"

"DEREK!"

"Okay I've seen people… " Derek had to think real hard. "Haff close perthonal relations with worse." Yeah, that sounded right. He thought. "Cameron just has different insides. But it's okay though. She works, or so John says."

Sarah smacked him in the face with a couch pillow. "Ow! Jesus woman!"

**************

* * *

John wasn't quite sure how it happened. One minute, they were… what were they doing? Oh, yeah. Watching the triple eight memories. The next minute… they were both out of breath and panting. He briefly wondered why SHE was panting, since she never actually had to breathe. You know what? Actually, he didn't really give a damn.

Cameron was clutching him in a death grip. Her eyes were faintly glowing blue, and she almost looked like she was panicking. Her HUD was flashing all sorts of displays, and she was experiencing sensations she never felt before. What was going on?

"John?"

"Yeah?"

"I think I'm malfunctioning."

John chuckled. "No, you're not. From what I can tell, you're reacting normally."

Cameron was doubtful. According to her HUD, if her body kept up the 'malfunction' she'd experience another surge. But it wasn't warning her to stop, as it did in the factory.

"Are you sure? "

John grinned. "I promise. You'll be fine. You're not malfunctioning."

*****************

* * *

Sarah was weeping. "What did I do wrong?"

Derek wasn't sure what the hell to do. She was abusing him one minute, and the next, she was bawling her eyes out.

"I raised him the best I could! He didn't have a father, but I hoped that didn't matter! I tried to give him the best life possible." Another wave hit, and Sarah folded herself onto the couch.

"Machines killed his father! Machines try to kill him every day! How can he possibly be in love with one???"

Derek opened another beer. This was so not his area.

"He's only seventeen! I don't care where he's gone, I don't care what he's going to do. He still needs me!"

And there it was: the truth, wailing like a banshee. Was it a metal thing, or a mother thing?

"You know, if you don't stop that, you're bound to throw up. And that'd be a damn waste of good beer."

"You insensitive bastard!" Derek caught the pillow this time.

"Enough! Seriously. You raised a fine young man. That man," Derek pointed to the ceiling, "is going to be a freaking messiah to people. He's what keeps us going, he's what leads us to ultimate salvation. And he didn't just learn it all from a book. He learned it from you. You taught him everything he knows. You're a freaking legend in the future. The great Sarah Connor, the woman who raised John Connor, the leader of the Resistance. He talked about you every freaking day. You meant the world to him, and it killed him when you died. He kept a damn picture of you in his pocket for years." Derek sighed, and rubbed his temples.

"After all he's been through, are you seriously saying you would condemn the poor kid for finding some small piece of happiness and love in a shithole world where there's barely anything worth fighting for, simply because SHE'S not your ideal 'girl'?"

Sarah had stopped crying, and was just sitting there, staring at her hands. He had a point, but she didn't want to admit it.

They both looked when they heard Cameron scream John's name in panic upstairs.

Sarah jumped up, and reached under the coffee table for the gun that was hidden there.

"Sarah, I don't think…"

Sarah was already on her way to the stairs. Derek jumped up, almost stumbling, and followed her. "Sarah, really… you're drunk… you shouldn't be handling firearms… Sarah… It's probably just… Sarah I wouldn't open… Oh God."

Sarah opened John's bedroom door, to find her son, naked as the day he was born, shaking an equally naked… unconscious… Cameron.

She just stood there, slowly lowering her gun. _Oh…my…God_.

John turned to find his mom and Derek standing in the doorway, but it didn't quite register. He was too worried about Cameron. In fact, he was terrified.

He didn't know what happened. She had been perfectly… perfect one moment, and the next… she wasn't responding. Maybe she was malfunctioning? And it was his fault! He didn't listen to her. He promised her she was okay…

"Cameron! Wake up!" Tears started flowing down his cheeks. He turned to his mother and uncle in the doorway. "I killed her! It's my fault! Cameron!!"

Derek couldn't help it. He began laughing. He laughed, and laughed, and couldn't stop. He ended up bent over, clutching his stomach. Tears were rolling down his own cheeks. Sarah just stared at him like he was mad.

"Oh God… You didn't kill her… " He was having a hard time breathing. "You… Didn't I tell you… " Derek made an attempt to stop laughing, and cleared his throat. "Ahem…. " He was mostly successful, but he couldn't keep the grin off his face. "They were good days… good happy days… when the Connors managed to reach 'shut down point'…" He cracked himself up again.

"What?"

Sarah couldn't take anymore. She walked out of the room and headed to the bathroom.

Derek toasted John with his beer. "Congratulations man. 120 seconds… " He turned around, still laughing, and shut the door behind him.

Sarah slammed the bathroom door and vomited.

Cameron came back online and found John sitting over her, looking ill.

"John? Are you okay?"

"Kill me… please."

*******************************

* * *

John woke early, listening to his family downstairs. He could feel Cameron's arm across his waist, and was reminded of the previous night.

_Eff my life. I can't go downstairs. I'll never live to see lunchtime, cause I'll die of embarrassment. Maybe it was just a dream…_

John took a quick look down. Nope. Definitely not a dream.

"You're awake early."

"Yeah… " He almost asked her what she was doing up herself.

"I'm sorry about last night."

John sighed. Back to this again. "Cam… we already went over this… if you apologize one more time…"

"You'll do what?"

John rubbed his eyes. "Duct tape your mouth shut."

Cameron tilted her head in thought. "That could be kinky. I might like it."

John slowly turned his head to look at Cameron. "Did you download a nymphomaniac subroutine while I wasn't looking?"

Cameron laughed. "No, I'm just teasing you."

John shook his head. "How about we climb out the window and sneak to McDonald's for breakfast?"

"Why would we do that? We can just use the door."

"That would defeat the purpose of avoiding the dragon and the jackass."

Cameron rolled her eyes and stood up, dragging John with her. "The sooner you deal with it the better."

"That's easy for you to say Miss Hyper-Alloy Combat Chassis. If mom beats YOU with a broomstick, you'll be just fine."

"Your mother never beat you."

"There's always a first for everything."

*********************************************

* * *

John felt like he was walking down death row as he entered the kitchen. Derek was sitting at the table drinking coffee. He looked up as John entered, and grinned.

"Morning stud muffin."

"Derek stop shouting!" Sarah leaned against the counter, her head in her hands. There was a half empty glass of water by her elbow.

"Shh… the Queen Mother is hung-over."

"I'm not hung-over."

Derek laughed silently.

John sat down at the table next to his uncle, careful not to make any noise with the chair.

Cameron was mixing what looked like several random ingredients in a glass. She pulled a spoon out of the drawer and started stirring.

Sarah jumped up and pulled the gun out of her waistband and aimed it at Cameron. "Don't…make me…kill you."

Cameron stopped and glanced at the men at the table, who had both froze. She pulled the spoon out of the glass and handed it to Sarah. "Drink it. You'll feel better."

Sarah hesitantly took the glass and sniffed it. "Ugh. It smells awful."

"I could have made it worse."

Sarah glared at her. "If this kills me…"

"It won't."

Sarah tilted the glass back and chugged, trying not to taste it. She followed up with the rest of her water. Gagging, she set the glasses down on the counter and walked over to the table. Standing between Derek and John, she glared at both of them. Her right hand shot out and found its target on the back of Derek's head. "That's for getting me drunk last night." Her left hand found John's head. "That's for not locking the goddamn door."

She turned and headed upstairs. "If anyone bothers me, you die."

John looked at Derek, who just grinned again.

"Good days indeed…"

"Shut up Derek."

His uncle just laughed. "Nah, for real. I used to win a lot of money…"

"DEREK"

Cameron walked over and hit Derek in the back of the head, in a perfect imitation of Sarah. It almost knocked him out cold. "Would you like me to make you some pancakes, John?"

* * *

**** I haven't read Cosmo in years. I made up these titles, even though there's probably titles very similar... it's Cosmo after all.**


	17. Chapter 17

Cameron sat in the downstairs office watching the triple eight memories. John was supposed to be helping her, but he'd fallen asleep with his head on the desk.

The house was quiet. Derek was sleeping on the couch, and they let Savannah go downstairs to play with John Henry since it had begun raining outside. She was teaching him how to play pretend with her tea party set.

Cameron, skilled at multitasking as she was, used the somewhat free time to think and analyze things that had been going on with her.

Like emotions. How did humans deal with them? Sometimes she was so confused she wished she didn't have them. She had at least begun understanding them a little better recently. Well, except love. That one was still enormously complicated. It wasn't like a set emotion. It was more like lots of emotions at once.

And sex. She knew she was designed fully capable of sexual intercourse. It was part of being a female infiltrator. She just hadn't known what to expect. She wasn't sure Skynet knew either. Unlike Vick, she had a full range of emotions allowing her to process sensations differently and more effectively. She had preferences, and got genuine enjoyment out of some sensations. Vick wasn't capable of that. He wasn't self aware. He was a drone to Skynet, following directives, never truly thinking. Cameron was designed differently. And helped by John Henry, she was completely free of Skynet's clutches, which future John had only locked away in a box. She was capable of developing beyond her basic Skynet programming. Unfortunately, there was still one last fluke…

Cameron quietly stood up so as not to wake John, and headed down to the basement, where Savannah was setting up her tea set.

"Hi Cameron, do you want to play too?"

Cameron smiled. "Maybe later. Right now though, could you go upstairs for a little bit and play in your room? I need to talk to John Henry."

Savannah nodded. "Okay." She looked at John Henry. "I'll get more people for the party."

Cameron watched her climb the stairs before turning back to John Henry.

"What can I do for you, Cameron?"

************

* * *

Cameron sat in John Henry's seat, waiting for him to finish opening her port. John Henry had assured her it was just a simple programming fix. A few limits to set, a new line of code here and there, and she wouldn't have any more "shut down" problems.

In erasing her Skynet programming, which included several function limits (such as her emotional capacity), John Henry hadn't realized it would cause a power regulation malfunction. Frankly, he didn't know she'd be able to, well… _feel_ that much. She was programmed with the capabilities, but not necessarily physically designed. When she shut down at the factory, he just thought it was because she'd only been back online a short while, not having time to adjust to her altered programming. He expected her to gain more control over it. While she had gained some, it wasn't enough. From Derek's story John had passed to her, it was a continued problem in the future. It was definitely something that needed actual modification.

"This should not alter you in any way except improve your power management, but as we really don't know for sure, I can't promise you anything."

"Shutting down is dangerous, regardless of the situation. A lot can happen in 120 seconds. I can't put John in danger."

"Very well, then. If you're ready…"

Cameron handed him the pliers.

The modifications were completed, and it wasn't long before Cameron was heading back upstairs. Savannah was waiting at the door, two stuffed animals in her arms.

"Can I go back down now?"

"Yes, you can go."

"Good, cause John's cooking something and it smells really yucky." She pointed to the kitchen before heading back down to the basement to start her tea party.

********************************

* * *

Sarah woke, feeling impressively better. She slowly got up and stretched, checking the time on the clock. It was only 12:30. She took a hot shower, letting the water relax her muscles. Putting the previous night's memories in a tightly sealed box…

It was not something she ever, ever wanted to see. Her son, in bed, with _any_ girl… not something any mother wanted to witness.

She had to admit, though, beyond the emotionally disturbing, mentally scarring images… it was actually kind of funny.

_He thought he killed her_. Sarah couldn't help herself; she had to laugh. It would make remarkable teasing opportunities. _If he's going to make me deal with this… _

Stepping out of the shower, Sarah wrapped herself in a towel and headed to her room. She didn't get two steps past the door, though, because she smelled something burning downstairs. Quickly running down, careful not to slip on the wood stairs, she ran into the kitchen to see her son standing at the stove, and Cameron opening doors and windows.

Walking over to the stove, she could see what looked like a relatively square black chunk of coal in a frying pan. "What the hell are you doing?"

"I was making a grilled cheese sandwich," John said exasperatedly.

Sarah turned to Cameron. "You let him near the stove?"

"I was downstairs and unaware of his actions. I would have prevented them if I knew."

Sarah looked at her son, and back to the frying pan. "I never want to hear another joke about my cooking again."

Derek had woken up, choking on smoke. He walked into the kitchen to find Sarah dripping in a bath towel, and John looking like an idiot. He took one look at the pan, and the spatula in John's hand, and decided to take action.

"Alright. From now on, the area from here…" he pointed to a spot on the counter, "…to here," he pointed to the other side of the stove, "is off limits to you. There's an imaginary bubble surrounding it. It's like a dangerous force field that people named John Connor can't cross." He looked at Sarah. "Should we trust him with the microwave?"

****************************

* * *

"But there's no tea in the pot."

Savannah smiled. "Of course not! You pretend. "

"I don't understand." John Henry was holding a tiny porcelain teapot.

"You use your imagination to pretend there's real tea."

"And this is a game?"

Savannah bit her lip. "Sort of."

"Oh. How do you play?"

Savannah smiled and took the teapot. "Like this." She turned to her right, where she had a large stuffed bunny wearing a goofy hat sitting in an extra chair. "Would you like some tea, Mrs. Bunny?" She pretended to pour tea into the small cup on the table. "Do you want sugar, or cream? Sugar?" Picking up the little sugar dish, she pretended to scoop sugar in the cup.

John Henry was confused. "The bunny isn't talking. How do you know what it wants?"

"I just use my imagination." Savannah watched John Henry analyze the tea set. "Do you have an imagination?"

He looked at her. "I don't know."

"Well, it's easy. You just close your eyes..."

The lights went out in the basement.

"You don't have to turn the lights off, John Henry." Savannah laughed.

But John Henry didn't turn them back on. "John Henry?"

When John Henry spoke, it was in a weird voice she'd heard once before. "Run… Savannah... NOW."

Savannah ran towards the steps, but it was too dark. She couldn't see where she was going, and she tripped and fell. Looking back, she saw John Henry's eyes glowing red. She screamed.

************************

* * *

Sarah was at the stove making edible grilled cheese sandwiches. They were actually the one food besides pancakes that she had an 80% chance of not screwing up.

Derek and John were sitting at the table behind her, looking at Derek's shoulder. "We were idiots. We thought we were cool, like some gang or something. Most of us just got nasty infections. One poor bastard actually died." Derek had a poorly designed tattoo on his solder. John really couldn't tell what it was.

"How did you do it?"

"We cut the design in with a blade, then rubbed ash in it."

Sarah snorted. "That was brilliant."

"Hey I never claimed to be a genius. At least John's…"

Derek paused, as the power suddenly went out. "Is there a storm coming?'

Cameron, who had wandered in from the office, looked out the window. "No."

All four heads turned in unison when they heard a scream.

Sarah grabbed the shotgun from under the kitchen sink, and Derek pulled out the handgun John gave him. Sarah threw John hers, and followed an unarmed Cameron to the basement door.

Cameron opened it, and with the light from the upstairs, saw Savannah sitting on the steps.

"CAMERON!"

Cameron ran down the steps, but instead of helping Savannah, as soon as she cleared the upstairs wall she leapt over the rest of the steps and put herself between Savannah and John Henry.

Sarah ran down the steps, aiming the shotgun. John followed behind her, and reached for Savannah. Picking her up, he turned towards the terminators.

John Henry was standing behind his desk. His eyes were glowing red, and his body was twitching.

"They found him," Cameron said. She turned to Sarah and John. "You must get out, now."

With Savannah in his arms John didn't waste any time. It wasn't a good time to argue with her. He ran back up the steps, with Sarah at his heels.

Cameron tilted her head at John Henry, whose mouth stretched open.

"Help… me."

"I'm sorry." She pulled out her switchblade, and approached him.

********

* * *

Derek was waiting at the top of the steps. "What the hell is going on?" He didn't know about John Henry yet.

"No time to explain," Sarah said. She looked at John and took Savannah from him. "Get Catherine on the phone. Pack up your room." She looked at Derek, who was still standing in complete confusion. "Pack my room. I have to get Savannah's. We're in the car in fifteen. Move."

Derek was a soldier, and when given an order, especially by a Connor, he didn't need an explanation. He just moved.

John had been through the drill many times before. Only essentials, as fast as you can. He was glad that his mom had bought half a dozen new large duffel bags though. More people, more crap, she had said. He shoved as much as he could from the two dressers into one, and barely got it zippered. In another, he shoved as much of Cameron's clothes as he could, starting with the new stuff, and what he knew to be her favorite pieces. In two others, he grabbed his and Derek's. He didn't bother carrying them down the stairs; he just tossed them over the railing.

Going back in his room, he packed his backpack with his laptop, gun, and mp3 player. He grabbed his and Cameron's new identities and papers from the desk drawer, and ran downstairs.

Derek was already loading the car up with all the bags.

"Let's go!" Sarah shouted. "Eight minutes!" Savannah was sitting on the couch clutching a doll, while Sarah was gathering up all of the weapons around the house.

The front door burst open, and Catherine stormed in.

"MOMMY!" Savannah cried, but Catherine paid no attention. She headed right to the basement.

*******

* * *

Cameron turned to see Catherine running down the steps. She handed her John Henry's chip.

"I don't know how much they got. It was all I could do."

Catherine nodded. "Thank you." She walked to the back of the room and opened a hidden cabinet under the steps. She pulled out a large manila envelope, and handed it to Cameron. "Take them and go. Sarah already has them packing, she knows it's not safe to stay. They found Zeira Corp. through John Henry; they'll find him here, too." Her face suddenly took on a whole new level of seriousness, even for a terminator. "I don't have to explain to you… we both know Judgment Day is soon."

Cameron nodded, and they both headed back upstairs.

************

* * *

Sarah was zipping up the last bag when the two terminators came back upstairs. She saw Cameron was holding a large envelope, and Catherine headed straight for Savannah.

"That's all of it," Derek said, coming in from outside. John followed behind him.

Sarah didn't acknowledge them. She was watching Catherine and Savannah.

"Mommy!" Savannah was in tears. She had no idea what was going on.

"Savannah, listen to me." Catherine held her by her shoulders. "You have to go with John and Cameron." Sarah thought it odd that she didn't mention her or Derek. "You're going to go far away, and hide from some bad people. I can't come with you, I have to stay and fix John Henry. A lot of people's lives depend on him."

Savannah sniffed. "But you'll come back, right?"

Catherine touched her hair, and tucked an errant strand behind her ear. "I'm sorry, Savannah. But someday, you'll understand."

Savannah started bawling, and threw herself at her mother. "No mommy please! I don't want you to go. Please mommy don't you love me?"

Sarah's heart was breaking. She looked at John, whose eyes were brimmed with tears. Looking down at her feet, she wiped her own cheeks.

Catherine hugged Savannah back. "Of course I do, Savannah. More than anything, that's why I have to do this."

Cameron had handed John the envelope she held, and walked up behind Catherine. "We have to go."

Catherine stood with Savannah in her arms, and attempted to pass her to Cameron. Savannah wouldn't let go though.

"NO mommy PLEASE!"

Sarah couldn't watch anymore. It reminded her of when they arrested her, and took a nine-year-old John away from her. She grabbed the last bag and headed out to the car, with Derek following behind.

"Savannah!" Catherine scolded, and gently pried the girl's fingers off of her. Not quite sure why, she gave the child one last kiss on the forehead. "I'll see you again," she said, and walked back down to the basement.

**************************

* * *

John stared out the backseat car window, not really seeing anything as they passed. Lost in his thoughts, he leaned his head against the door.

He couldn't believe they were leaving already. This had to qualify as the shortest time they ever lived in one place. It was amazing, really, how quickly life could change. One minute, you're having a nice day with your family. The next… you're running for your life.

No, that wasn't normal life. That was John Connor's life. And now, it was young Savannah's life. He glanced to his right, where Savannah had curled up against his side; his arm wrapped protectively around her. Life… their life… just really wasn't fair at all.

Looking up, he noticed Cameron watching him. They just stared at each other for a long moment, not needing to say a word.

He reached over and clasped her hand.

**********

* * *

It was several hours later when they finally stopped and rented the last two rooms in a dark, sketchy looking motel. _Just our type_, John thought. Tossing a few bags in the corner, he collapsed on the first bed. Savannah crawled up and sat next to him, still clutching her doll.

Cameron was wandering around outside, checking the building safety and perimeter as usual.

Derek, who hadn't said a word the entire trip, finally decided to speak. "So, is anyone ever planning on filling me on what the hell is going on?"

Sarah sighed, and sitting on the other bed, she began to explain.

"You had a T888 in the basement the whole time and didn't tell me?"

"No," John answered. "We had an advanced AI, built to rival Skynet, in a triple eight endo, using a TOK715 chip…Cameron's other chip."

"Oh like THAT'S much better… wait, other chip?"

John sat up on the bed, and checked the time on his cell phone. "Mom, why don't you and Savannah go out and find something for dinner?"

"Sounds like a good idea," Sarah said. "Come on Savannah, you get to pick dinner tonight."

John waited till they left before he started talking.

**************

* * *

Derek sat on the bed opposite John. His face didn't reveal any emotion; he just stared at the wall, listening to John's words.

John didn't hold anything back. There really wasn't any point in doing so. He told him everything; the jumping to the future, finding Cameron, switching the chips, coming back… the old Derek.

"So that's why Cameron had trusted me to come back. You had already met me."

John took a breath, before girding himself and continuing. "We knew you, yes. And my mother knew your brother as well."

Derek's eyes snapped to John's at that. "What are you talking about?'

"Your brother… didn't disappear Derek. Not really, anyway. I… my future self… sent him back in time to protect my mother in 1984."

Derek just stared at him. It was obvious Kyle wasn't still around. "What happened to him?"

"He died protecting her from a T800 that was sent back to kill her before I was born."

It was hard for Derek to hear. He'd long ago had to get past losing his brother. But hearing now, for the first time, what had happened... it brought the pain and the memories back. "I never knew what happened to him… he was the only family I had."

John glanced at the floor and took another deep breath. "No, he wasn't." Looking back at Derek, he dropped the other bomb. "Cameron was sent back to protect me in 1999. In order to be able to hunt Skynet, we time travelled to 2007, bypassing my mother's death in 2005. I should actually be 24 years old."

And that was that. Doing some fairly quick math, Derek didn't need any further explanation. He sat there for a moment in shock, and then quietly, stood up and walked out of the room.

John didn't hear the door shut, so he turned, not surprised to see Cameron walk in. "You told him?"

"Yeah."

"That's good. He should know."

John sighed and flopped backwards onto the bed. Shaking his head, he closed his eyes. "Nothing about today was good."

Cameron laid down beside him, mimicking his posture. "I wouldn't say 'nothing'."

John turned his head to see Cameron grin. "That was last night."

"It was 12:37 am. Technically, this morning."

John laughed. "Okay okay, you win." He thought about the previous night, and smiled. "We'll have to remember to schedule disasters and cataclysmic events for at least 2 minutes after sex in the future. Think we could work out a deal with Skynet for that?"

Cameron chuckled, and slapped his arm. "I doubt it, but we won't need to anyway."

"Right. Are you expecting our love life to take a downfall to boring and anticlimactic endings?"

Cameron rolled her eyes. "While I can't vouch for 20 years from now… I had John Henry fix my chip."

John sat up, suddenly serious. "You what?"

Cameron picked up a layer of strategically parted hair and showed him her new stitches. "I had to, John. Once, like at the factory, is a fluke. Twice… is a problem."

"Why didn't you tell me? When did you do it?"

"You fell asleep in the office."

John remembered waking up and wondering where she was. He was too busy burning the kitchen up when she must have come back upstairs to notice.

"That wasn't long before John Henry was hacked. You're lucky you were already disconnected."

"Yes, I am. And he wasn't really hacked this time. He was infected with a virus."

"A virus?"

"Yes. The AI hacked him the first time, collected valuable information, then tried to destroy him, which ultimately didn't work. This time, it sent a virus to try to alter his programming. As soon as he was breached, he shut the power down, including the network. Unfortunately it was too late. The virus was slow working though, and I was able to remove his chip in time. Catherine will have to remove the virus before activating him again."

John turned completely on to his side to face her. "So, we're on our own then now, I take it?"

Cameron turned to face him as well. "We will still have occasional contact, I'm sure. Savannah won't, of course. But otherwise, yes. We're on our own again."

"In a way, I'm kind of glad," John admitted. "She freaked me out. I always half expected her to warp out of walls or something."

Cameron rolled her eyes. "You're such an idiot."

"And you do that way too well. Have you been practicing in mirrors again?"

"Have you been spying on me?"

"Ha!" John pointed accusingly, a wide grin on his face. "So you have been!"

"I didn't say that."

"You didn't say no, either."

Cameron pouted. "I don't want to look like a freak."

It was John's turn to roll his eyes. "You never _look_ like a freak. Gorgeous? Yes. Stunning? Absolutely. Beautiful? Without a doubt. Freakish? Only if you start wearing eyeliner like Catherine."

John's words made Cameron feel all warm and happy. "Why do your words like that make me feel good?"

John chuckled. "That's the point. It's called flattery."

"So… I'm flattered?"

"You should be."

She smiled. "Thank you for explaining."

John leaned in and kissed her. "How does that make you feel?"

Cameron searched for the right word. "Excited?"

John grinned. "Now that's what I'm talking about."

*********************

* * *

Sarah balanced two pizzas on her left arm, as she dug in her pocket for the room key. She felt the top box sliding, and quickly reached up to stop it, dropping the key in the process. "Damn it. Honey, can you get that for me please?"

Savannah picked up the key and slid it in the door lock.

John jumped when he heard the door open. Luckily, Savannah was the first one in.

Or not. The girl giggled for the first time in hours. "John and Cameron sittin in a tree… "

Sarah walked in to find two very guilty looking teenagers on the bed. At least, one very guilty looking teenager, and a very guilty looking teenaged appearing terminator. Either way one looked at it, they were both very busted.

"Seriously, if you two can't control yourselves for 45 minutes alone..."

"Thirteen."

"What?"

"Derek left for a walk only thirteen…fourteen minutes ago."

"Not helping, Cam," John mumbled, as he opened the top pizza box.

Sarah rubbed her face in exhaustion. "I can't handle this," she grumbled to herself. "John, for crying out loud use a plate, they're in the bag right in front of your face. Cameron… " Cameron quickly adjusted her top. "Thank you."

********************

* * *

Derek returned as Cameron was moving his and John's bags to the room next door.

"Ah, a little too crowded in there for the Queen Mother?"

"She said she can't handle it."

"Yeah I bet. You two in that one?"

Cameron shook her head. "You and John are sharing this room. I am sharing with the other girls"

"Aww come ON… the manager said the TV didn't work in that one."

"It's not my decision."

"This is ridiculous," Derek grumbled, as he walked into the 'girls' room in search of food.

***********************************

* * *

Derek lounged on his bed, staring at a broken TV. John was flipping through a bilingual bible he found in the nightstand.

"So… this is exciting," Derek said.

"Story of my life," John replied sarcastically.

"Your story sucks. I want to stop being a character in it, and go star in a story with a working TV. And maybe some non-alpha female costars who don't scare the crap out of me."

John laughed. "What the hell did my mother do to you?"

"Funny you just _assumed_ it was your mother, not the advance killing machine." Derek sighed. "She was fine at the mall. We went, we saw, we bought, we moved on. Simple. Effective. I was happy. But then… Wal-Mart happened."

John nodded solemnly. "Yeah… Wal-Mart has a way of happening."

"First, I picked a bad shopping cart. She bitched about the wheels squeaking the entire time. 'Couldn't you have managed to pick one that wasn't broken? Nag nag nag nag.' Then, I wasn't pushing it fast enough. Then I was pushing it too fast. Then I wasn't paying attention. Then I grabbed the wrong kind of green beans. Then… THEN she forgot to get toothpaste, which in that hellhole is all the way on the other side of the damn store. So she sent ME to go get it. So I battle the crowed, found the damn toothpaste. The woman said Crest… she didn't tell me there were 30 different kinds! So I just picked one. Took me 10 minutes to find her again. And you know what she says?"

"You picked the wrong toothpaste."

"I picked the wrong damn kind of Crest toothpaste. She likes _paste_ instead of the _gel_. So what do you know… I had to go all the way back." Derek shook his head slowly. "And you know that look she gives you? It's evil. Damn evil. I'm pretty sure a couple times she was debating just shooting me right there in the middle of the cereal aisle."

John laughed. "Yeah, I've been seeing that one a lot lately."

They fell back in silence, having nothing else to say.

********

* * *

Sarah lay in bed, trying to sleep. The problem was, she couldn't sleep while someone was standing over her. It was disconcerting.

"Cameron, do you have to stand there?"

"It is the most efficient place. I can see the whole parking lot form this window."

"I'm sure we don't need a guard dog right now. Just, go sit down or something. I can't handle you standing there like that."

Cameron walked over to the desk and sat down in the chair.

Sarah closed her eyes again and turned over.

"Stop staring at me."

"I'm not staring at you."

"Can't you go walk around outside and patrol or something?"

"That would be too suspicious."

For a half an hour, Sarah tried to ignore her. It wasn't possible. She could _feel_ her sitting in the room, staring.

Sarah tore the covers off of herself and jumped out of bed. "Come with me."

Cameron followed Sarah to the other room. Knocking on the door, Sarah waited for the door to open. John answered, confused.

"What's going on?"

Sarah pushed Cameron into the room. "She's your problem."

Turning back to her own room, she heard Derek get up. "Oh hell no I don't think so."

******************

* * *

John shut the door and looked at Cameron. "Oookay…. what happened?"

"Sarah was not comfortable with me in the room. She couldn't sleep."

"You were staring at her, weren't you?"

Cameron just smiled.

"You're bad."

"Are you complaining?"

John took her hand and led her over to the bed. "Nope. Not at all."

****************

Derek followed Sarah back to the other room and claimed the far bed.

"If you snore, you're sleeping in the car," Sarah warned, climbing in beside Savannah.

Derek ignored her and turned the TV on.

"Turn it off. Now."

"Fine." He clicked the TV off… and waited.

It wasn't very long before he heard what he was waiting for.

Sarah sat up, glaring at the wall separating their two rooms. She grabbed the TV remote and turned it back on herself.

*************

John smiled at Cameron underneath him, and kissed her softly. "Well, you're still awake. That's a good thing, right?"

"It's good." Cameron kissed him back. "It's perfect."


	18. Chapter 18

Cameron lay next to John, her hand trailing up and down his arm. She liked the feel of his skin; the light hairs on his arm tickled her fingertips. She reached the spot on his upper arm where he'd been shot, and felt the odd scar that was left. It wasn't completely healed, but it was looking well. She heard the door in the next room open and close, and she waited for the expected knock.

It was early, only about 8:00 a.m., but she'd heard movements next door for the past half hour. Carefully standing up so as not to disturb John, she looked around the floor for convenient clothes to put on. Bypassing her own jeans, she opted for John's sweatpants and undershirt he had put on the night before.

Quietly opening the door, she found Derek holding a duffle bag. "Morning, uh, I just need to switch you bags." Cameron nodded and took her bag, switching it for Derek's on the other side of the room.

"Sarah said we're going house hunting today."

"When are we leaving?"

"I don't know. She said she needs to talk to you. I'd just wake up the Gen… er, John there and get his butt moving before she comes knocking too."

"I will be over."

Cameron shut the door and walked back over to the bed. Sitting next to him, she watched him sleep for a few more moments before gently shaking him. "John, it's time to get up."

John groaned and rolled over. "Who was at the door?"

"Derek."

"What does my mother want?"

Cameron smiled. "She wants to talk to me, and for you to get up and get ready. We're going house hunting today."

"Ugh. Ten more minutes."

"Fine. But if you're not up when I get back I'll be forced to send Sarah."

John opened his eyes fully to glare at her. "You can be evil." He looked her up and down. "Are you going over there wearing my clothes?"

Cameron looked down at herself. "I could change. Derek brought my bag."

Grinning, John shook his head. "No. I think it's cute. And it will drive my mother crazy."

"And you call me bad, John Connor?"

"You're the one wearing my clothes."

Cameron stood, and pulled the covers off a naked John.

"HEY! Not funny!"

"Rise and shine."

* * *

Sarah opened the door to find Cameron, wearing John's clothes. She refused to comment. "Is John up?"

"Yes."

"Good. Get in here."

"Morning Cameron!"

"Good morning Savannah." She smiled at the girl who was curled up on the bed watching cartoons.

"Derek told you we're going house hunting?"

Cameron turned to Sarah and nodded.

"I need to know if we need to change our identities."

"Why would we?"

"If John Henry was hacked, is it possible Kaliba could have found out who we are?"

"No," Cameron said. "For this potential situation, John Henry was not made aware of our new identities. We can continue using the ones Catherine supplied us with.

Sarah was glad someone had thought ahead. "I assume Catherine had given you Savannah's papers?"

"I haven't opened the envelope, but yes. From what she said, I can assume it includes Savannah's identification."

"Good. Then we're better off than I thought. I'd like to leave in half an hour, if you can make sure my son is actually out of bed that would be great.

Cameron nodded and opened the door.

"And give him his clothes back."

* * *

John washed his hair with the weird smelling shampoo. The water wasn't really as warm as he'd prefer, but he was just glad he managed to get the damn thing working at all, half falling out of the wall as it was.

Sticking his head under the water, he didn't hear the bathroom door open. He did, however, feel the cold air hit his body as the curtain opened and Cameron appeared.

"Are you almost finished?"

"Uh…" John just stared at her. "Yeah, why?"

Cameron gently pushed John out of the way and put herself under the stream of water. "We are leaving in 19 minutes."

John just watched her, the water cascading down her perfect naked form. He swallowed. "Nineteen minutes, huh?"

"Yes, we should hurry." She opened the tiny shampoo bottle.

"I can hurry."

"Good. I repacked your bag, and left you clothes on the bed. Everything should fit better in the bag now."

John blinked. "I'm going to get your for this."

"For packing your bag?" Cameron had a way too innocent look on her face for him to fall for it.

John glared at her and stepped out of the shower before he spent the next seventeen or so minutes in there.

* * *

John got dressed and did a quick search to make sure Cameron hadn't missed anything in her repacking. He grabbed the envelope from Catherine he'd brought in and pulled out the contents on the bed.

There were several papers, and two passports. Picking up one of the small blue books, he saw it was Savannahs. _Oh shit, her birthday is in three days, assuming this is the real one._ He picked up the other passport and opened it up. A photo ID card fell out of it. Picking up the card, he recognized the picture as Cameron, but it was her name that made him blink. _Cameron Taylor? _He checked the ID with the passport, and verified the last name change. Tossing them on the bed he picked up the small stack of papers. Along with a very significant amount of cash, there were Social Security cards, birth certificate, custody papers, and... marriage license; all with John and Cameron's names printed, ready for signatures. John just stared at the mess on the bed.

"It's only if we need them, John."

Cameron had come out of the bathroom, a bath towel wrapped around her body. She stood behind John, looking over his shoulder at the papers.

"Yeah, I figured. It's just… all a little bit… I don't know. I never thought much about the future, except fighting Skynet and being some great leader of mankind. Getting married, being a dad… it wasn't something I ever thought about. I guess it was just something that I never thought I'd get to have." He shrugged. "And now, seeing all this… it's kind of scary. I don't know if I'm ready to handle all this AND be some kind of messiah."

"You will be…"

John looked up into the face he loved, and saw nothing but hope and honesty.

"You always are."

John sat in the farther back seat of the SUV. With more time to pack, everything managed to fit in the trunk, which made driving around all day a lot more comfortable. Sarah and Derek were checking out the fourth house of the day, and both John and Savannah had lost interest. Opting to stay in the car, John tried to nap, but it was just too hot to be comfortable.

Savannah turned around in her seat. "I'm bored."

"Yeah? Join the club."

She looked at Cameron who was sitting next to John, studiously looking at the window. Savannah looked around, but didn't see anything interesting. "What are you looking at, Cameron?"

"I'm monitoring the environment for potential threats."

Savannah didn't comment, but continued to watch her. Sometimes, Cameron said weird things that she didn't understand. She also did weird things that were different than other people. Her face didn't move as much as other people's, and even just sitting; she sat differently than everyone else.

Savannah glanced at John, who was slouching in his seat, leaning against the door. She looked back at Cameron who was sitting stiff and straight, her hands in her lap. It reminded her of John Henry.

"Can you make your eyes glow like John Henry?"

Cameron jerked her head to the left, and John's eyes snapped open to see Savannah staring at Cameron.

Cameron didn't know how to respond, so she just looked at John for help.

"Um, why would you ask that?" John asked.

Savannah shrugged shyly. "I don't know…" She sat back down in her seat to hide.

John looked at Cameron. Neither really knew what to do.

"It's alright Savannah, you just surprised us, that's all."

"I'm sorry," she whimpered.

John sighed. "Come here." He patted the seat between him and Cameron, and Savannah climbed back. _All right, now what genius._

John scratched his head. "Were you scared when you saw John Henry's eyes glow?"

Savannah nodded.

"Why was that?"

"It was dark… and he was talking funny again… and his eyes were scary."

"Would you be scared if Cameron could make her eyes glow?"

Savannah looked at Cameron as if trying to imagine her with glowing eyes. "I don't know."

"What if I told you they looked really pretty when they glowed?"

"Really?"

"Yeah… if you want… you can ask her to make them glow for you." Cameron glanced at John, looking a little nervous. He gave her a reassuring smile.

Savannah sat staring at Cameron, debating whether or not she really wanted to see. Evidently deciding, she sat up on her knees and faced Cameron.

"Can I see?"

Glancing at John one last time for permission, she let her eyes glow. Not to their fullest extent, but just enough that there was a definite hint of glow.

"They're blue!" Savannah was amazed. John was a little surprised she wasn't frightened, Cameron's eyes even gave him chills occasionally… but those were usually good chills, though. "Can I see them again?"

Cameron closed her eyes, and when she opened them, she let them glow a little brighter than before.

"How do you do that?"

"Magic," John said. "Cameron and John Henry are very special people. But you can't tell anyone, okay? It's a really big secret that only we know. Other people won't understand that they're different. They might try to hurt them."

Cameron turned as she heard the front door of the house open.

Sarah walked out to the SUV and stuck her head in the window. "All right, I think this one's it. Why don't you guys come in and check it out… Cameron you can do your thing."

The agent had been rather surprised they wanted to move in immediately, but the right amount of cash up front could really work wonders.

Walking into the living room, John and Derek dropped their load of bags onto the floor.

"Derek, you can have the room upstairs to the right. Savannah will be next to me on the left."

John looked at his mom, surprised. The house was significantly smaller than the last one, with only three rooms, a living room, and a decent sized kitchen. He assumed Derek would be sleeping on the couch again. "Um, where am I supposed to go?"

Sarah smiled, a little too sweetly. "You and Tin Miss can share the basement."

John heard Derek snort beside him, which earned him a quick elbow to the side. "The basement?" John couldn't believe his ears.

Sarah laughed. "Seriously John, do you think I'd make you sleep in a dungeon? "

"Is that a rhetorical question?"

She just gave him a look. "As much as you probably deserve it after keeping me up last night…it's all modeled nicely. Apparently they used it as a game and laundry room.

John hadn't seen the basement, and wasn't exactly sure his mother had either. He could only imagine… _dungeon. Right. Thanks, mom._

He picked up his and Cameron's bags and headed for the basement door. Opening it, he found a light switch and headed down the steps. Looking around, it wasn't actually all that bad, besides being a little chilly. The walls had some seriously ugly paneling, but it looked freshly carpeted. The laundry area was at least a separate room. It definitely had potential.

Derek came down the steps behind him, whistling as he took in the room.

"Not too bad. You got yourself a nice little bachelor pad down here."

John rolled his eyes. "Yeah. It's really pimpin'"

Derek feigned confusion. "Is that what they called it these days? In the future, we just call it 'sound proof'."

John punched his uncle in the arm and headed back upstairs; Derek, laughing, followed behind.

"Alright, who's coming with me to Wal-Mart?"

Sarah wasn't exactly shocked to see everyone suddenly looking occupied elsewhere.

"It's you're turn," Derek whispered.

"I can order you to go," John whispered.

"Not yet you can't."

"If someone doesn't volunteer, we'll all go." Sarah was losing patience.

"C'mon John, take one for the team."

John glared at his uncle, but stood up anyway. "Fine, I'll go."

"Good man." John ignored him.

"Reese, you're on babysitting duty." Savannah had fallen asleep upstairs, and Sarah was loath to wake her.

"Fine with me. I think I'll just take a little nap myself."

"Anything happens to her, you die a slow painful death."

"Yes, ma'am," Derek saluted.

John reluctantly followed his mom out the door, running in to Cameron coming in from her patrol.

"Where are you going?"

John grinned. "_We're_ going with mom to Wal-Mart." He grabbed her hand and tugged her towards the SUV. Payback, as she said herself, was a bitch.

* * *

"I think a nice neutral cream would work."

"The sage would add nice color."

"Yeah, you're right. Let's get some of both."

John leaned over the handle bar of his cart as his mom and Cameron added bath towels to the basket. They each had their own cart; Cameron's was already filled with necessary household supplies. He wondered what the deal was with women and color. If it was up to him, everything would be white, and it would all go together in colorless glory.

Sarah scratched another item off her list. "Alright, John we'll have to get you a bed tomorrow. For now you might as well get the stuff for it while we're here. I'm going to start the groceries."

John sighed, and followed Cameron to the bed linen aisle. Yawning, he looked at all the choices, and decided they were all pretty much ugly. "Pick what you want, Cam, as long as it ain't too hideous, I don't care." He rested his head on his arms and closed his eyes.

Cameron looked over her choices, and choosing a bedspread and sheet set, placed them in John's cart. "Ok, let's go."

An hour later, they rolled up to a register and waited behind two other people in line. There was a toddler screaming at the register beside them, and John briefly wished it wasn't against the law to duct tape other people's children's mouths shut. Or better yet, knock the parent in the head for allowing their spoiled child to wail obnoxiously while they stood there doing absolutely nothing, seemingly oblivious to the stares and the screeching.

Sarah watched her son, who looked like he was about to go on a homicidal rampage. "What's the matter, John? You look tired."

John looked at his mom and shrugged. "Yeah, I guess."

"Maybe you should spend more of your time at night sleeping."

"Mom!" John shook his had in exasperation, which made Sarah laugh. She gave him a one-armed hug and kissed him on the side of his head.

"I'm your mother, I have the divine right to tease you."

"Not in the middle of Wal-Mart."

"Chill, nobody can hear anything over Satan's spawn over there."

They rolled up to the register and started unloading their carts onto the moving belt.

"Are you two together?"

Sarah pointed to Cameron, now pushing the overflowing grocery cart. "The three of us."

John watched the cashier's face fall, and felt sorry for her. He hated unloading groceries, and he imagined packing them was just as bad.

Sarah finished her cart and started on John's. "Wow, pink, John? I wouldn't have guessed that was your color."

John looked at the pink and green striped bed sheets his mother was holding. He slowly turned around to find Cameron conveniently observing an unknown suspect on the other side of the store.

"You're lucky I love you," he mumbled, knowing she'd still be able to hear it. A slight smirk appeared on her lips, though she still didn't look at him.

* * *

"Grilled or fried?"

John looked at the menu. "If you're at KFC, you get fried chicken. If they called it KGC, you'd get grilled."

"But they have new grilled chicken that looks good."

"We're not here for grilled. It defeats the whole purpose of coming to Kentucky _Fried_ Chicken. We're here for fattening, crispy, artery clogging, breaded chicken goodness. Oh, and mashed potatoes… with biscuits."

"That is more calories than you need to consume for two days," Cameron informed him.

"But it's so tasty."

Sarah sighed, and regretted letting John pick dinner.

* * *

John dug around in his bag downstairs looking for his music player. He had pretty much everything pulled out of the bag and thrown around the floor, but he couldn't find it.

"She said she packed it," he mumbled to himself.

Grabbing the other duffel, he opened it up and started digging though it. He felt something hard, and pulled it out. It wasn't his mp3 player; it was a small wooden box. He vaguely remembered grabbing it from the top of the dresser when he packed, knowing it was something Cameron had had since she'd arrived. Curious, he opened it up.

There wasn't much inside. There was the necklace she was wearing when he found her after her amnesiac episode, and a piece of folded cloth. Eyebrows furrowed, he pulled out the cloth and unfolded it. Inside, was the diamond he'd given her way back when. Picking it up, he felt something stir inside him. It's not that he didn't think she'd keep it, it's just the way that she did it: wrapping it and keeping it in a personal keepsake box. He would have never thought a terminator capable of understanding the concept, not even Cameron. _I guess you learn something new everyday._

He watched the light refract in the stone, and an idea occurred to him. Rolling it around in his fingers, he imagined… it would be perfect.

He wrapped the stone back up carefully in its cloth bundle, but instead of putting it back in the box, he put it in his pocket.

Hearing the basement door open, he quickly put the box back in the bag and zipped it up.

"What are you doing?"

John looked up to find Cameron taking in the total mess he created.

"Uh, just looking for my mp3 player. You said you packed it, right?"

"Yes. It's in your bag."

"No it's not, I already looked."

Cameron walked over to his bag and knelt down. Unzipping a front pocket and reaching in, she pulled out his mp3 player. "You are talking about this device, aren't you?"

Duh. "Yeah, I didn't look in there. Sorry."

"It's alright. Sarah says it's a man thing." She handed it to him and looked around the room. "Why is this room pimpin?"

"What?"

"Derek said our room was 'pimpin'. I don't understand."

"It… just means it's cool."

"Oh. Thank you for explaining."

John sat against the wall, his legs stretched out in front of him. Cameron followed and sat next to him.

"How many times are we going to have to move?"

"I don't know, John."

"I thought we jumped through time in 1999 so we didn't have to run any more."

Cameron turned her head to look at John. "I said we could stay in one place, and fight. I didn't say we weren't going to have to move. Even in chess, sometimes the king is forced to castle."

"But why didn't we just stay at the old house? " He bent his left leg and rested his arm on his knee. "I mean, we don't even know for sure if Kaliba knew where we were. And so what if they did? Why didn't we just stay and fight?"

"They sent an HK to Zeira Corp, John. We really don't know their full capabilities. You must know your enemy before you attack. If we stayed, we took a chance at being slaughtered. We made the right choice in leaving."

John sighed. "I know we did. It just sucks. I'm so sick of running. I've been doing it all my life and I'm just tired of it. I want to sit back and enjoy life. I wanna get a crappy job and work for minimum wage. I want to live life, without knowing what my future is going to be."

Cameron took John's hand in her own and gave it a light squeeze. "And I want to be a real girl, but I don't have a fairy godmother."

John chuckled, and brought Cameron's hand to his mouth and kissed it. "Who needs fairy godmother anyway? You're girl enough for me."

"Am I? In the future, you could have any girl you wanted… you often did."

John thought about that. When Jesse said they were close, he just assumed he and Cameron were _that_ close. He really didn't think any other 'close' would piss someone off enough to go to the lengths that she did to try to separate them. But what Cameron seemed to be saying… "You mean, I chose other girls over you?"

Cameron looked away. "Yes. Almost every night."

John was genuinely shocked. How could his future self treat her like that?

It explained a lot of her behavior, especially with Riley. She never said a word to him about his relationship with her other than it was 'dangerous', even though he saw the undisguised hurt on her face several times. She wouldn't though, would she? She was used to him choosing other women over her. Even though in the future she hadn't been completely capable of feeling or understanding emotion as she was now, it was clear she obviously felt some sort of discomfort at his taking other women to bed. Just as much as she didn't like him choosing Riley over her.

John felt like a total asshole. How could he judge his future self, when he himself did the same thing not long ago?

"Cam…" He waited for her to look at him. "I… I don't think 'sorry' is even an adequate apology for what I've done to you… now, or in your future… " He looked down at their joined hands, and added his other hand on top. "All I can do… all I can say… is that I love you. I don't care what you are. When I fell in love with you, I fell in love with all of you. Every nut, bolt, and beautiful smile… you're the only person I can be myself with. The only person I can trust implicitly." He gazed into her eyes. "You are the only girl I will ever choose."

Cameron studied his face for a long moment. Once the face of an insecure teenager, it was now the face of a confident young man, who's eyes conveyed nothing but honesty and love.

"Promise?"

"Promise." John smiled, and sealed it with a kiss…

A kiss that lasted a lot longer than expected. John had to break away before he suffocated. Out of breath and grinning, he glanced at the ceiling. "You know, this room is basically sound proof."

"I'd think rug burn on rather sensitive places would be a bitch in the morning, though."

John blinked, as the words didn't come from Cameron. He turned to see Sarah coming down the steps, with an armload of new towels.

"Oh, don't mind me. I'm just the mom, coming down to do laundry, assuming the coast was clear as the door was left wide open…" She paused, seeing John's clothes still tossed around the floor. "What the hell happened here?"

"I was just looking for my iPod."

"Right. Did it reveal itself to you?"

"Yes."

"No," Cameron corrected. "I found it for him."

"Well, you packed it, so you knew where it was," John argued.

"I told you where it was."

"You just said it was in my bag."

"Yes. And it was. You just didn't look hard enough."

Sarah watched in amusement as her son thoroughly lost the battle.

"Who puts things in front zipper pockets anyway?"

"Oh, give it up, John." Sarah headed to the laundry room. "And clean up this disaster area down here. You have a closet in the corner. Use it."

Sarah smiled, listening to the bickering continue as she started the washer.

"You should fold them properly so they don't wrinkle."

"Exactly who's going to care if I have wrinkled boxers?"

"I was talking about your t-shirts."

"What's wrong with the way they're folded?"

Sarah shut the washer and closed the laundry room door.

"When that stops, one of you put the towels in the dryer." Heading back upstairs, she paused halfway up the steps. "If you sleep on the couch John, kindly remember it's public territory… and if not, for the love of God shut the damn door."

John pointed at Cameron. "That was all her."

"But you were the one who started..." Cameron pointed back

Sarah just shook her head and continued up the steps, mumbling something under her breath about kids sending parents to early graves.

John bent down to pick up another sock.

"Those socks don't match."

"Yes, they do. They're both white."


	19. Chapter 19

Cameron walked into the kitchen as Sarah flipped the last pancake off the griddle.

"My son still asleep?"

"Yes, but he shows signs of waking soon."

"Good. Go drag him off the couch and tell him breakfast is ready."

Cameron headed to the living room where John was sprawled out on the couch like a panther. Calculating angles, she grabbed his arm and pulled him off the couch.

"Aahhhoooowww WHAT THE HELL?!" John looked up to see Cameron standing over him.

"Breakfast is ready."

"So you freaking pull me off the damn couch???"

"Sarah told me to."

John stood up rubbing his butt, and stomped into the kitchen. "Mom! What the hell did I do now?"

Sarah was putting pancakes on Savannah's plate. "I don't know, what did you do?"

"Obviously I did something again for you tell Cameron to yank me off the damn couch like a sack of potatoes."

Sarah looked at John, confused. "No I didn't, I just told her to… oh. Sorry." She looked at Cameron. "When I said 'drag him off the couch', I didn't mean literally drag him."

"Oh, thank you for explaining." Cameron looked at John. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay… it would've been funnier if you did it to Derek."

"Did what to me?" Derek had walked in, hair wet from the shower.

"Nothing." John pulled out a chair and sat down, grabbing a plate and some pancakes.

"Hey, what about you and me get out of here today? Go see what's around this town. Spend some quality guy time."

John looked up from the bottle of Aunt Jemima. "Quality guy time, huh?"

Derek shrugged. "Yeah, why not?"

Why not, indeed. "Sure. Sounds like fun."

"Only if you plan on walking. I need the car. We need to buy you furniture," Sarah said.

"I'm sure we can handle it, Mom."

Sarah looked back and forth between the two, a little doubtful. "Fine. Suit yourself. I could use a day off."

**********************

Sarah dried her hands on a dish towel. "You have your cell phone?"

"Yes, mom."

"Guns?"

"Yesss mother."

"Are they loaded?"

"No, I thought we'd try water guns today, see if they make terminators melt."

"Don't sass me, boy."

"Yeah," Derek chimed. "Don't sass your mother."

"Shut up, Derek. Let's go."

Cameron stood in the living room quietly, watching the interaction. It was clear she was not to be going with them, and it made her more than a little uncomfortable.

John grabbed his gun off the counter and stuck it in his waist band. He gave Sarah a quick kiss on the cheek. "Later."

"Be safe. Don't do anything stupid," she said.

"Gee, have a little faith why don't ya?"

Cameron spoke up. "Please… don't do anything stupid."

John sighed, and walked over to her. "What, no faith from you either?"

"We know you better than that."

John rolled his eyes. "Right. I won't do anything stupid. I'll be fine. Promise." He kissed her on the cheek as well and headed out the door.

****************************

"Ahh… smell the fresh air of freedom… hear the sweet sound of silence… no women, no bickering, no nagging…." Derek nearly stuck his head out the window like a dog.

John laughed. "It's not that bad."

Derek gave him a nasty look. "Says the man who actually gets laid out of it all."

Snorting, John shook his head. "You'd have a better argument if my mother didn't have impeccable timing."

It was Derek's turn to laugh. "Ah yeah… she's a trip."

"Speaking of trips, where are we going?"

Derek shrugged. "Hell if I know. As long as it's away from them, I couldn't care less."

John glanced at his uncle and considered his plans. "Well, if we go home without having bought at least a mattress, mom will flip shit and be all sorts of unpleasant. Besides that, I have one stop I'd like to make, and that's it."

"Sound's good to me."

*******************

Cameron stood at the front window, watching the driveway. There wasn't anything else to do but wait for John. She didn't feel comfortable with him out there without her, but there wasn't really anything she could do. He'd been gone for well over an hour, and she'd been standing at the window every minute.

She reached into her pocket and pulled out the old pocket watch. She gazed at it, dully gleaming in the sunlight filtering through the window. From the day John returned it to her, she always kept it in her pocket. She didn't really know why she felt the need to keep it on her person, but every once in a while she liked to pull it out.

Opening it up, she rubbed her thumb lightly over the buttons inside. She didn't have any explosive in this skull, so the watch was essentially useless. Yet, simply throwing it away wasn't an option.

Sarah watched her from the kitchen table. The last time she saw the watch was when she had given it back to John. She didn't know he had returned it to Cameron.

Looking down at her hands, Sarah let her thoughts wander. She knew Cameron was different, she always had. There wasn't really any denying it. Sure, she pretended otherwise, but in reality, there wasn't anything you could do to escape the fact.

But regardless of how different she was, Sarah always just believed everything she did was just because of her programming. From tying her shoes, to… making John fall in love with her. It was all artificial, nothing was real. Right?

John didn't believe so. He'd tried to explain to her, but she wasn't really interested in hearing his lovesick theories of artificial intelligence and emotion. If what he said was true, Sarah wanted to witness it for herself.

And she did, to a certain degree. Cameron never really "opened up" to anyone other than John. She'd seen how she'd look softly at him, then turn around and put up the metal-hardened expression she wore in front of everyone else in a flash. She'd seen glimpses of the "girl" Cameron when they went shopping, but she'd never seen what John had always claimed to see.

Now, though… watching her completely unguarded… there it was. Standing in front of the window idly playing with the watch, Sarah could see the girl under the metal. She watched as Cameron snapped the watch closed, and instead of putting it back in her pocket, put the chain over her head and slipped the watch under her shirt.

Yeah, there it was. Oh how the simplest of acts could speak volumes.

"Hey Tin Miss… why don't you go do something productive?"

Cameron turned around, head tilted. "Like what?"

"I don't know… anything. I'm sure you can figure out something. Don't just stand there looking like a lost puppy, it's unattractive and annoying. Go fix something or, build something, or… whatever. Just stop staring out the window all pathetic looking."

"Okay." Cameron considered for a moment, and then headed downstairs. Since John was gone, she could refold his clothes without him getting mad.

***************************

"This one's nice and fluffy," John said, lying on a full sized bed in a mattress store.

"Yeah, but this one has a lot of bounce."

"Knock it off Derek, people are staring."

"So? They're just observing. I'm saving them the trouble of having to do this themselves." He was sitting on the edge of the bed, seemingly trying to propel himself across the room.

A nerdy looking salesman bustled over to them. "Ah, I see you've found our two most popular choices. Are you looking to make a new mattress purchase today?"

John wondered why else people would be shopping in a mattress store on a Thursday afternoon. "Yeah…. Do you deliver?"

************************************

Sarah carried the basket of towels up the steps and found Savannah waiting for her in the kitchen.

"Sarah, what's Cameron digging for outside?"

Digging? "Um, I don't know honey, where is she digging?"

"In the back yard."

Super. "I'll go take a look. Can you carry this basket into the living room and fold them for me?"

Savannah nodded, and taking the large basket, hobbled into the living room.

Sarah headed down the hall to the back door. Opening the screen door, she stepped out into the yard, and found Cameron digging a hole beside the house. _What the hell?_

"Cameron… may I ask what you're doing?"

"I'm digging."

Sarah closed her eyes and counted to five. "I can see that. WHY are you digging?"

"I'm digging out space to build a door in the basement."

_Oh my God. She's gone insane… or whatever machines go._ "Cameron…" Sarah just shook her head. "Give me the shovel."

Cameron stopped, and handed her the shovel. Sarah, glancing at it, briefly wondered where she stole it from. "You can't just… dig holes and build doors in basements."

"But it's necessary. There is no outside access except small windows that would be difficult to escape out of in an emergency."

"Well, for one, you need a building permit to do anything like this." Sarah sighed. "Two, it's just insane. How were you planning on building a door in cement?"

"I was simply going to widen the window."

"….. Riiiiight."

"It was more practical than building a tunnel through the floor."

_Oh my God._ "Well the windows are just going to have to suffice. Now take this shovel and fill this crater back in. Then, put the shovel back wherever you found it…"

"The shed."

_Right. We have a shed._ Sarah looked at the small structure in question. "Did you find anything else useful in there?"

"Yes. There's an old lawn mower, and a usable saw. I could cut down one of those trees and build a…"

"NO!" Sarah nearly panicked. "No… no cutting or digging or building anything. Got it?"

"But you said…"

"I know what I said. I changed my mind. Just… fix this damn hole and get in the house."

*******

John followed the GPS and pulled up to the little shop he was looking for. Stepping out of the SUV, he looked at Derek.

"This is a top secret mission. You tell anyone, I kill you."

Derek nodded. "I can just stay out here if you want…"

John shook his head. "It's almost 100 degrees out here. I don't think so. Besides, Cameron would kill you if there was a terminator in there and you let me walk right into a death trap."

Derek thought about that. "Did I tell you about the time some poor guy did just that? He went in first and half-assed scoped it all out. You went in next and almost got your ass handed to you by a triple eight. If it wasn't for you being there to calm Cameron down, we were all pretty sure she'd have just torn Conway's arm off and beat him to death with it. I personally, do not wish to piss her off."

John scratched his ear, recognizing the name of his useless partner in the future. "Well, should I even mention what my mother would do to you, first?"

Derek looked genuinely fearful. He stopped John as his hand grabbed the doorknob. "I better go in first. You never know…"

John chuckled as he followed his uncle into the Jeweler's.

***********************************

Cameron did as she was told, and found herself staring out the window once again. A truck rolled up the driveway, and she reached behind and grabbed her gun.

"Savannah, go upstairs to your room."

The girl climbed off the couch and ran upstairs, passing Sarah who was on her way down.

"Cameron what's going on?"

"There's a truck."

_Ever so informative._ Glancing out the window, Sarah recognized the logo on the side. Two men had stepped out and walked to the back of the truck.

"Are they metal?"

"No."

"Then chill. They're just delivering John's bed."

"They could be a threat."

"You're right. Kaliba is probably hiring their most brilliant operatives from mattress discount stores," Sarah deadpanned.

"That is highly unlikely."

Giving Cameron a very impatient look, she opened the door for the delivery men.

"Is this the Taylor residence?"

"Yes it is, bring it on in," Sarah nodded.

"Great, where would you like it?"

"Don't worry, just leave it here. We can manage."

"Are you sure? It's rather heavy." The man looked seriously doubtful.

"Trust me," Sarah smiled. "We have it under control."

"All right then." The man shrugged. "We'll be back in with the box springs."

Cameron watched the men like a hawk as they returned to their truck for the other part of the delivery.

Leaving the box springs with the mattress, the man evidently in charge detached a form taped to the mattress. "Sign here, and you're all set."

Sarah signed the paper and showed the men out the door. Cameron watched them until the truck drove out of site.

"Can you handle this?" Sarah asked, knowing she didn't have to.

Cameron nodded, and picked up the mattress. Sarah opened the basement door and watched her carry it down the steps gracefully.

Walking over to the upstairs steps, Sarah shouted that Savannah could stop 'hiding'.

"I'm bored," the child complained when she came back down the steps.

Sarah did feel bad. There wasn't anything for her to do. There was no TV, and they didn't bring any toys except her doll. She had already half finished her coloring book, too.

Sarah stepped out of the way as Cameron came back upstairs and headed straight for the window again.

_What the hell do you do with a bored eight-year-old and a bored cyborg?_

Sarah racked her brain for ideas. "Who wants to bake cookies?"

"OOOOOO MEEEE!" Savannah jumped up and down with her hand in the air.

Cameron, on the other hand, was apprehensive. "Can we do that?"

"What do you mean _can_ we?"

"Is it safe?"

Sarah blinked. "We have the most advanced egg timer in the world that can even remove the cookie sheets from the oven on time for us. I'm sure we'll manage just fine."

**************************

Derek politely stood at the back of the shop as John approached the counter. A short, balding old man walked out of a back room and smiled at John.

"Good afternoon lad, how can I help you today?"

John returned the smile. "I called you on the phone earlier…"

"Oh, yes. So that's you with the stone, eh?"

John nodded, and pulled out Cameron's diamond.

The old man took the stone and checked it with an eye magnifier. "This is a mighty fine stone you have here, about 2 carats. You want a ring, you said?"

"Yes, just something simple."

"Any recutting?"

"No." John shook his head. "Leave it as-is."

The old man nodded. "I can do that. What kind of metal would you prefer?"

"At least 18 karat rose gold."

"Ah, that'll be gorgeous. What size will we be making it?"

John's face froze. He hadn't thought about the size. It's not like he could just ask her.

But, there was one person he could ask… Saying a short prayer to any deity that might listen, he pulled out his phone and dialed his mom.

************************

Sarah wiped her hands on a dish towel and answered her phone. Hearing her son's keypad code, she responded with her own. "Yes, John?"

Cameron looked up from pressing peanut butter cookies.

"Tell me something only you would know about me?"

Sarah got a little nervous, but did as she was asked. "Your favorite underwear when you were six had Spiderman on them. What's going on? Is something wrong?"

"Please tell me Cameron wasn't there to hear that."

Sarah grinned. "You can't hear her laughing?"

"Shut up. This is important. I had to make sure it was really you… so… don't say a word. I have a serious question that you have to promise to answer, and promise not to behead me either."

Sarah turned around and moved to the other side of the kitchen. "Fine. What is it?"

John took a deep breath. "If you were to guess… what size ring do you think Cameron would wear?"

Sarah almost… almost… hung up the phone.

"Mom?"

"Six."

"Ok… thanks," John answered awkwardly.

He didn't get a reply.

**********************************

Sarah hung up the phone and took a deep breath. She was so not expecting that.

"Is John all right?"

Sarah looked up to see a very concerned Cameron staring intently at her. She forced a smile.

"Yes, he's fine. He just had a question. How are the cookies coming?"

Cameron knew Sarah was hiding something, but let it drop. "I'm just about to put them in the oven."

"What other kind of cookies can we make?" Savannah asked.

"We have enough ingredients for sugar cookies," Cameron replied.

"All right." Sarah clapped her hands together. "Let's do it then." Anything to distract her from the recent phone call. "How about some music?" _And the beer in the fridge… _

**************************************************************

A couple hours later Derek and John got out of the SUV and headed up to the porch. They'd found an adult arcade and spent the remaining afternoon shooting aliens and racing all sorts of motorized vehicles. Skeeball, though, still wasn't John's forte.

Walking up the steps, both men stopped to listen.

"Are we at the right house?" Derek asked.

John nodded. "I think so. Is that Shania Twain?"

"You're asking ME?"

The curtains had been closed, so there was no way to peek into the house. Unlocking the door, they walked in unnoticed, as the music was too loud to hear anything. It also smelled like…. cookies? They had to be in the wrong house.

Slowly, hands on their guns, they walked in far enough to see into the kitchen. What they saw made them both question whether they were dreaming.

Sarah and Cameron were singing along to the music and dancing around the kitchen. John blinked a few times and rubbed his eyes, not quite sure if he'd secretly been drugged and was hallucinating.

Nope, they were really there. Savannah was standing on a chair at the counter, looking like she was building cookie dough animals, completely covered in flower and sugar. John also noticed several empty beer bottles on the counter. And… half empty ones in Sarah and Cameron's hands. _Cameron was drinking? She can't really be drunk, can she?_ No, it had to be some sort of subroutine she activated to… what, have 'fun' with Sarah? The music was coming from John's laptop and speakers. He didn't even know the volume could go up that high. Nor did he own the music they were listening to…_What the hell did Cameron do?_

John and Derek looked at each other, neither quite sure what to think. They watched as Sarah and Cameron danced like, well, drunk people… using their beer bottles as microphones.

"_THE BEST THING ABOUT BEING A WOMAN IS THE PREROGATIVE TO HAVE A LITTLE FUN!... OH, OH, OH, GO TOTALLY CRAZY – FORGET I'M A LADY, MEN'S SHIRTS SHORT SKIRTS… OH, OH, OH…"_

John watched, slightly horrified, as his mom stood up on a chair. _This can't be happening._ Not one to miss out on an opportunity, though, he pulled out his cell phone and snapped several pictures.

"_I FEEL LIKE A WOMAN!!_"

When the song ended, Derek clapped. Sarah and Cameron both looked to find the two men standing in the living room watching them act like idiots. Instead of being embarrassed though, Sarah grinned. "Hey boys, wanna help bake cookies?"

"Um, that's okay Mom. We're cool. We'll just…watch."

Sarah paused as she listened to the next song start playing. Her grin got wider. "IT'S ONE OF MY FAVORITES! Come on, guys you have to dance with us."

Derek looked like a deer in headlights. "No, no, no… I do not dance. Especially to Madonna."

Still on her chair, Sarah began to sing.

"_LIFE IS A MYSTERY… EVERYONE MUST STAND ALONE… I HEAR YOU CALL MY NAME... AND IT FEELS LIKE HOME…"_

John's heart leapt into his throat when he saw his mother teeter on the chair, but Cameron was there quickly to steady her, and helped her step off the chair. It didn't stop either of them though from singing or dancing. Derek made the mistake of walking to the fridge to get his own beer, when Sarah took his hand and tried to awkwardly dance with his stiff arm.

Cameron had made her own way over to John and dragged him into the kitchen. It took him a few moments to realize she was actually singing. _Really_ singing. She didn't quite sound like Madonna, but voice was pretty and harmonious with the music. He had absolutely no idea she could sing. He gave a few props to Skynet.

Slowly, Cameron took his hand and leaned in closer to his ear.

"_I hear your voice… it's like an angel sighing…"_

She slid her hands up his arm and across the back of his neck as she walked around behind him to his other side. John simply watched her lips move, completely entranced. He had absolutely no idea how she knew the words to a song from 1989, but he didn't really care

"_I close my eyes, oh God I think I'm falling…"_

His breath caught as Cameron snaked her arm around his waist and pulled him closer. Staring into his eyes, she paused, her lips an inch from his own.

"_Heaven help me"_

Pulling away without any further contact, Cameron smiled and handed John her beer. John mindlessly took it from her, not quite sure exactly what had just happened. When his brain caught up to him, he quickly glanced around to see if anyone had just witnessed it, but Savannah was busy building an elephant, and Sarah was… well, Sarah was dancing with a beer-chugging Derek's arm. _Poor Derek._

Cameron grabbed the potholders and pulled out the last tray of cookies from the oven. She turned it off, and warned Savannah not to touch the hot tray. Picking up a cooled peanut butter cookie from one of the many stacks on the kitchen table, she walked back over to John.

"Would you like a cookie? They're still a little warm."

John accepted the cookie and took a bite. It nearly melted in his mouth. "Holy shit. How did you guys manage to make these with my mother helping?"

"One cup of sugar, one cup of peanut butter, and one egg. It's very hard to mess up."

John studied the cookie thoughtfully. "I think you guys need to bake more often." He looked across the kitchen to find Sarah now dancing alone with a spatula. Derek was nowhere in sight. "What did you do to my mom?"

"She got drunk."

"Yeah? It looked like you did, too."

Cameron gave him a look. "You know that's impossible. I didn't even drink that in your hand. It was hers I took from her, but she got another one anyway."

"So you attempted to stop the madness?"

"I was only concerned she'd be ill again." She watched Sarah stumble into a chair. "But it was nice not being treated like a stupid piece of metal for a while." Shrugging a shoulder, she walked back over to the stove to take the fresh cookies off the sheet.

John watched her, a newfound understanding slapping him in the face. He walked up behind Cameron, and regardless of who was watching, he wrapped his arms around her waist, and took the spatula from her hand. Setting it aside, he moved her hair out of the way and kissed the back of her neck. "Go help Savannah get into the bath before you have to cut that stuff out of her hair. I'll clean up the kitchen and make sure Mom doesn't kill herself in here."

Cameron smiled, and turning in John's arms, she kissed him on the lips.

"Oh get a room you two."

They both looked to see Sarah leaning up against the fridge, trying to stand up straight.

"On second thought…" Cameron nodded in understanding and took Sarah's arm, leading her up the stairs carefully.

John turned to Savannah. "Hey squirt, take your butt upstairs. Cameron's going to run you a bath."

"Awwww do I have to?"

"Yes, you do, unless you'd rather her give you a short spiky hair cut when all that stuff dries and you can't get it out."

"NO!"

John grinned, and lifted her off the chair. "Don't touch anything."

He moved the chair over to the kitchen sink and helped her climb back up. "Wash those hands. If my mom finds little cookie hand prints all over the house you'll be grounded for your birthday in a couple days."

"It's my birthday?"

John never saw the girl smile that big. "Yes it's your birthday soon goof, how could you forget that?" He'd done his own Google search to confirm it this morning while looking for local jewelers. It wasn't too hard to find a birth announcement for the owners of a corporation as large as Zeira corp was.

Savannah shrugged. "I don't even know what today is."

Good point. John didn't know half the time either. "All right, well get upstairs then, and think about what kind of birthday cake you want." He smiled as he watched her run up the stairs.

He had already planned a good surprise for her. It wasn't really a pre-meditated plan, it just fell into his lap and he took advantage of it. Catherine Weaver had called him while he was out with Derek. Seemed she'd found out where to find Danny Dyson, but didn't want to discuss anything on the phone. Agent Ellison was going to be their liaison of sorts, and would be the only other person to know where they were living. She was planning on sending him out to meet them somewhere, and that's when John got the idea.

"Dude can we turn this chick music off?"

Derek walked back in from wherever he'd been hiding and grabbed a handful of cookies.

"Yeah, didn't even realize it was still on." John turned the laptop off and felt odd in the sudden quiet.

"Thank God," Derek sighed in relief. "Shit was giving me a headache."

"Wanna help me clean up?" John asked hopefully.

Derek flipped him off as he headed to the living room.

************************************

It had taken over an hour to clean the kitchen. John really didn't know how they managed to get flour all over the place. Cameron had come downstairs and washed up all the dishes, while John scrubbed crusty batter off the table. Afterwards, nobody felt like cooking dinner, so they ordered a pizza and sat in the living room, playing simple card games. Sarah had groggily joined them, her buzz having mostly worn off after a lengthy nap.

Cameron pulled the new bed sheets out of the dryer. "Do you want to move the bed?"

John shook his head. "No, it's fine where you put it." He had just gotten out of the shower, and was searching the remaining duffel bag for his boxers. "You refolded all my clothes didn't you?"

Cameron didn't answer. She shook the sheets out and started tucking the fitted sheet over the corners of the mattress.

Finally finding them hiding at the bottom of the bag, he pulled out a pair and slipped them on. He went in search for his sweat pants, but couldn't find them. Looking up to ask Cameron, he noticed for the first time that she was fully dressed, boots and all.

"Where are you going?"

Cameron tossed the pillows onto the finished bed and grabbed her gun and cell phone off the floor. "I have to go patrol."

John was just a bit more than slightly disappointed. "You don't _have_ to. It's not really your job anymore."

Cameron stopped dead, one foot on the stairs. "Yes, it is my job, John. It will always be my job."

John watched silently as she continued up the steps and shut the door. It was at that moment he realized how much he took having 2 extra terminators around for granted. Now he had to sleep alone.

*************************************

It was about 5 am and Sarah found herself in the kitchen brewing coffee. She watched it drip slowly into the pot, becoming more impatient by the minute. Finally giving up waiting, she pulled the pot out and poured what was already finished into her mug and replaced the pot before it dripped everywhere.

Adding a liberal amount of sugar, she paused when she heard the front door unlock. Grabbing the gun on top of the fridge, she didn't lower it until she saw Cameron walk in.

"Where have you been?"

"Patrolling the neighborhood. There are currently no threats."

Sarah raised her eyebrows and took a sip of her coffee. She was glad Cameron was still usefully keeping an eye out.

Cameron walked through the living room and stood in the kitchen doorway. "You look surprised," she commented.

Sarah shrugged, and pulled out a chair at the table. "Well, I know before, um, everything… you didn't always stick around at night. You're not the only one who didn't sleep," she said wryly, taking another sip of her coffee. "I think we all got used to having John Henry keep an eye on things. And what with everything else… I guess I am a little surprised at you spending your nights out there."

Cameron tilted her head. "I would not be a very good protector if I didn't ensure the security of John Connor and his family at night."

Good point. "No, I guess you wouldn't be. But I didn't think you had a mission anymore. I thought you were all about free will now or something. I find it hard to believe you'd 'prefer' skipping around the neighborhood at night. "

Always suspicious… Sarah would never change. Cameron took a step forward and let her eyes glow slightly. Sarah stared, not having seen her do that for a very long time. Well, not counting when her face was half blown off.

"I'm a terminator, Sarah. I'm very different, but that does not change what I am." She looked down at the floor. "I'm just a machine. My sole purpose is to protect John Connor. It always has been, and always will be, regardless of circumstances. It is my choice… and my preference to keep him safe." She glanced back up to see a stunned Sarah staring back at her. Turning away, she took a step towards the living room before Sarah found her voice.

"You know, you're only half right." Turning back around, Cameron stared blankly at Sarah. "You're not _just_ a machine."

Sarah stood up and made her way around the table to stand in front of Cameron. "Sure, you're all metal, but up in that chip of yours, there's much more than robot programming." Cameron and Sarah were both surprised at her admission. "As much as I'd love to… I can't deny it. And I certainly won't lie; it scares the living crap out of me." Sarah took a breath. "Nor can I say I trust you farther than I can throw you; but my son is a different story." She took a step closer. "You don't have a 'sole purpose' anymore. The moment my son fell in love with you was the moment that all flew out the window." It almost physically hurt Sarah to say that, but she knew it was the truth.

"Yes, you're a terminator. Yes, you have a job to do, just like we all do. Protecting John is one of them. But physical injuries aren't always the most painful damages. And sometimes, the people closest to us are the ones who can hurt us the most."

"I don't understand."

Sarah sighed, and awkwardly put her hands on Cameron's shoulders. "You have to stop pretending you're 'just some machine'. You can't have emotions and a full-fledged relationship, and then turn around and treat yourself like a useless toaster. One day, that'll get you into trouble or even killed. You've already done that to John once."

Cameron looked away, knowing the truth of it. Taking a breath, Sarah continued. "Putting yourself in danger may be the most practical way to protect John, but it's not always the right way, or the only way. In trying to protect him, you could end up hurting him more than Skynet ever could." Walking back to the table, Sarah picked up her coffee and took a long sip. She sat back down and rested her arms on the table. "I'm not telling you to stop doing what you're doing. I'm just telling you to think before you do it."

Cameron and Sarah just stared at each other, a brief moment of mutual understanding passing between them. Then, without a word, Cameron turned and walked downstairs to the basement.

***************************************

John rolled over and opened his eyes. He could tell by the lack of light coming through the small window that it was still very early, and he couldn't figure out what had woke him up. Sitting up, he spotted a dark figure sitting against the wall on the floor.

"Cameron?"

"Yes."

John rubbed his eyes. "What are you doing?"

"Watching you sleep."

Ugh. "You know that's creepy."

"I know. I was thinking."

_Well, that could be good or bad._ John crawled out of bed and moved to sit beside her. "Okay, what were you thinking about?"

"It's very difficult to be your protector and your lover at the same time."

"Well," John itched his nose. "Nobody said it was going to be easy."

"But it could be dangerous. What if something were to happen to me? What if Skynet were to use me to get to you somehow? It would not be good for you in any way.

"So what? Been there, done that, and look, I survived. Makes life a lot less boring don't you think?"

Cameron was getting a little agitated. "Why aren't you taking this seriously?"

John sighed and rested his head against the wall. "I am taking this seriously, Cam. I always take you seriously. It's just that you can't constantly worry about 'what –ifs'. You just gotta do what you gotta do, and take it one day at a time. You don't think I thought about the possible dangers that would come with this?" He gazed at Cameron through the darkness. "I didn't take forever to, you know… for no reason. I know there's a chance that I could lose you, and there's a chance that I could die. But that chance is there regardless of what we do. I could get hit by a bus crossing the street tomorrow, or choke on a pancake and suffocate. You could go on a one-woman rescue mission to break my crazy-ass mother out of prison and get yourself half blown up. You can't control everything. You just have to go on with life, hoping you make the right decisions, and that humanity doesn't get erased from existence because you chose to wear a gray shirt today instead of blue."

John stood up and stretched. "Now, I'm going back to bed, and I'd prefer it if you would join me willingly, cause I'd hate to have to give you a direct order to do so." He reached his hand down, and smiled when Cameron took it. "Good, no more moping around in the middle of the night and watching me sleep, okay?"

"It's morning, not night time."

John rolled his eyes and crawled into bed. "It's dark time. How's that?"

Cameron glanced out the window. "The sun is coming up."

"Knock it off, smartass, and get over here."

Cameron did as she was told, and laid down next to John.

"We have a lot to do today," John said through a yawn.

Cameron couldn't think of any plans they had. "What do we have to do?"

"You have to do your thing and find a safe place for us to meet with Ellison. I gotta go to the pet store and get supplies for five cats. Then we have a cake to order and a birthday party to plan for tomorrow."

"We're meeting with Ellison?"

"Yes."

"Whose birthday is it?"

"Savannah's."

"What are you doing with 5 cats?"

John smiled, and told her his plan. "Don't tell Savannah. It's a surprise."

"Is that why we're meeting with Ellison?"

"How about you let me sleep and I'll tell you everything in the morning."

"It is morning."

John groaned. "Fine… when I wake up… again… later in the day…"

Cameron was quiet for a few short moments. "But if it's something important I should know so I can plan mmph…"

John cut her off with a kiss. "Please…" Kiss. "Shut…" Kiss. "Up…"

Cameron was effectively silenced, but John still didn't get to sleep for a long time after.

**********************************************************************************

* * *

The End… for now. Stay tuned for _**That Which We Call Fate** _(sequel) coming soon. Thank you for reading!


	20. Chapter 20

I know I probably just made all of you with chapter alerts really excited, but this is not a real chapter… sorry! This is a thank you to all of you who read my story. Whether you loved it, hated it, or hung in there somewhere in between, I thank you very much.

For everyone who reviewed my story, on this site and others… you have all of my appreciation. I read every single review, and although I didn't get a chance to reply to all of them, I did appreciate every comment. You are what gave me the motivation, and often inspiration, to keep writing. I hope I don't let you down with the sequel.

EDIT:

My apologies for what may appear as bad editing on my part. At some point, FFnet decided they weren't going to allow asterisks as breaks within chapters. I apologize if it seems some of the scenes within my chapters ran into each other. I tried going back and inserting lines, but I know I missed a bunch. Eventually I'll have to go back and revamp the whole thing anyway.

I hope you keep reading on to to That Which We Call Fate. I promise, my writing does get better... (another stupid move FFnet made was not allowing links within chapters. So, you'll have to go up to my penname and go to my homepage to get to the next story. Sorry!)


End file.
